AQ - S.S. Trousselin

[IFBench]

Scientifically impossible.

What was in front of her defied the laws of biology, physics, chemistry — of every discovery known to man and of every discovery not known to man.
There was no formula for this; no written dissertation that would support it.

Since the dawn of man and 'mon, human beings have tried everything they could to be able to speak with every species possible. Countless generations of attempted teachings, technological solutions, and, unfortunately, even biological experimentation: all of it resulting in failure.

It was utterly, wholly, physically impossible.

While Hazel was having her understanding of the world completely shattered, Violet gave a hearty grin as she replied, "Now that is, as they say, 'wicked sick'!" Twirling her hand, she gave an over-the-top bow as she greeted with mixed lingo, "Good morrow, Coleane; mine name is Violet, and this is Hazel! Pleasure to meet you!"

With complete disregard for the other two patrons, Violet placed her elbow on the table as she held up her head atop it with eager fascination. "So, what is your home like? Are you a mayhaps a trainer, or the trained? Does your home even have trainers, I wonder?"

Hazel held up her phone in front of Violet's face, which only read the words: [STOP TALKING TO THE SCIENTIFIC NIGHTMARE] Violet paid her no mind.

"My home doesn't have any humans in it! I'm so excited to meet real humans!" Coleane said, looking around with her long neck. "They've made so many cool things! Like this 'cruise ship'! I've never seen anything like it back home!"

"Oh! And I'm a trainer!" she added, before looking over the menu again. Seriously, what was this "alcohol" stuff? Was that another human thing?

Huh! So Gen must have gotten separated from his trainer! No wonder he seemed to be so nervous! Maybe she shouldn't be asking for favors, though; he genuinely seemed to not know how he could teach her to speak human, anyway, and she was getting the feeling he was quickly becoming uncomfortable. "Hey, it's okay! Do you need help finding your trainer? I bet mine would be happy to assist! It's a big boat but we'll make sure you're safe! Not that I would be afraid to be alone, but my human doesn't like when I wander off by myself. I think she's scared. So I'm used to helping scared people!"

Oh, should she have said that? Maybe drawing attention to it wasn't the best idea.

"Um...s-sure. I'd like your help," Gen said, beginning to smile. He decided not to mention that his own biggest fear was being alone.

 

[Dragonfree]

Jade turned at the sound of a voice closer to her than all the background noise. She was met with a blue-haired girl along with an incredibly sleek Ninetales wearing some kind of pendant. Strange that this was the first person her age she’d seen. (Well, maybe a bit younger, closer to Rudy or Darren’s age.) Most of the other invites had been adults, which made it pretty different from that time on the S.S. Anne.

Jade gave an awkward smile. “Oh, uh, yeah, he’s a bit strange-looking, I know. He was born like that.” She didn’t make a habit of explaining Nine’s oddities to the people they met, but it was easy enough to just act like she didn’t know anything.

The girl seemed vaguely anxious about something. Then again, pretty much everyone was confused about the trip on some level. Some of them were just taking it in stride more.

“So, uh… do you know why you were invited?” Jade asked. Well, that’s a stupid question. Might as well just come right out and say that I don’t have any accomplishments.

Born like that? What the hell was that supposed to mean? You didn't just suddenly get Pikachu naturally getting born with feathers.

The girl didn't recognize her. That was something. May hesitated for a sick heartbeat. "Not really," she said. "Look, I mean, Pikachu don't just... is he some kind of superclone or what? Where'd you get him?"

Was there any chance Rick had made more than one Pikatwo? Taylor's had been very different, definitely no feathers, but technically there was no reason he couldn't have made another Pikachu clone and just... thrown it out when he didn't like it? And this girl'd stumbled across him, like Alan apparently had? It sounded nuts but probably less nuts than a random mutant Pikachu just growing feathers for no reason. Unless she was another one of Rick's relatives or something. But wasn't it a whole thing that he just had no other family than--

 

[kyeugh]

"It's...tequila," she said hesitantly. "The shot is enough for me, though. Small drink for a small person--"



F̸L̵I̶R̸T̶,̶ ̷F̴L̷I̷R̴T̶,̵ ̴F̵L̵R̶I̶T̴,̴ ̴F̴̡̝̙͙̐͂̀͐̈ͅL̵̻̦͕͔̭̕Į̷̨͓̇̎͘͠R̸̜̋̀ͅT̶̳̠͚͎͒̕͝ͅ,̵̩̩̤̎̀̓͜ ̶̢̛̠͍̥̍͋̄̑F̷͍̺̟̀̚͘L̸̼͚̝̻͝I̷͕̗͛͋͊͛Ṟ̵̊̾͠Ţ̷̰͛͠,̶͈̝͚̲̈́̌̇͠ ̷̢̱̥̲̠̅̋F̴̦̜̟̆͛̈́̕͜L̷̥͓͕͆͛R̷̨̗̻͎̽Į̸̦̇̆̀̎͐T̵̞͚̾̇̔ͅ,̶̧̨̊̓͜ ̵͚͈̞͑̄̍F̷̨̛̲͖̑͘L̵̩̓I̷̡̖͉͍͕̓̇͘R̶̢̲̞̀͠͠T̵̬̮̮̆̽,̸̡̧̫̜̄ ̴̗͍͖̪̯͑͋̾̆͛F̵̰͌̇͘͘͝L̴͑͐̑ͅĮ̷͈̮̐Ȓ̶̰T̶̨̧́,̸̺̖͊̅̚͝ ̵̮̤͇̥͐̃F̷̨̮͍̓̿̓̊͝L̴̰͊Ŕ̵̝̐́͝Ḯ̶̝͙̀̈T̸̪̥̀̏̑̕,̸̭͌͠ ̴̘͍͒̎͘F̶̲͍͖͇̯̈́̀L̵̨̨͓̲̳͇̥̤̝̝͕̖̻̠͌̅Ï̴̫̮̖͉̳̥͓͈̤̹̰̭̜̣̘̃̂̓̿̓̀͠Ŕ̶͈̭͚̩̳̱̣̪̼͇͙̦̥̽̆̓͂̑̽̀̎́̓ͅT̵̡̛̬͚̙̫̲̏̐͝,̷̧̨̛͉̝͕̖̥͉̫̦̭̦̮͒̀̅̑́̋̕͜͠ ̴̞̫͒̍̕͜F̶̛̛͓̦̗̘̻̗̘͎̺͍̔̿̌̃̈́̒̄̍̀͜ͅL̶͍̮̼̣̬͉̳̱͂̇̉̿̉̈́̋̾̓̀̉̋͘͜ͅĮ̷͇̣̺̒́̆̾̚R̵͎̦̻͈͖̍̍̔̌̐͑͌̍̉͘T̷̘̦͓͈̽͊͌̓,̷̢̛̲͍͙̩̈̾̊̅ ̷̟͚͈̖̯͖͈͎͒̾͐̌̍͘F̴̙̟̯̤̦͙͍̜̀̿L̵̛̰͕͙̝̝̹̩̅͆̃̊̀̐̂̽̚͠Ŗ̶̨̧̲͕̜̣͘͜ͅḮ̶͉̅̀̉̀͠T̶̡̢͉͍̭̩͇̭̀̌͛̃̉̕,̴̳̙͙͔̪̫͒̈́̂̈̽͗͑̐͊ ̵̲̲͕͊͒̈́̆͗̈́͌̇̂͂̎̕͝͝F̶̢̠͖͙͓̝͚͕̺͚̓͐̃̓ͅL̸̝̘̪̊̀͌̍͌͌̒̃̊͛̔̓̅͘̚I̷̧̙͚̯̠̩̾̊̒͋̊̃̓͝͝͝ͅR̵̞͎̖͔̭̝͛̊͠ͅT̸̤̜̣͓̥͕͖̱͙̯͖̠̓͝ͅͅͅ,̸̩͈̟̞̺̜̭͈̠̼̍͌̅͆̐̚͝͠ ̷̟̞̏͊͑̈́̀̇̉̀F̶̡̛̳͙̘̅̒̆͋̄̉̾̅͂̚͠L̷̰͎͔͓̞̞̰̜̜̹͑̉͒̚͜͝I̸̧̢̳̜̫̭̯͖̺̰̞͇̖͛̔̇̈́̔̓̿̽̽̏̈́̊͛̕R̴͖͓̋́͘T̵̛͉̬̙͖͖̗̦̬̰̪̔̆͛̀̈͜ͅ,̶͚̜̹͍̮̭̞̔̀̾̈́̊́̎ͅ ̵̛̩͕̖͔͕̼̂̅̄͂̑̌͘͠͝F̶̢͈̝̥̻̝̱̂͌̎̂̏L̵̬̼̖͉͖̱̪̹̪̬̗̳̖̠̟̐̈́̀̅͒̌͗̓͌͆̔̾͑R̴͕̜͖̝̈́̋̄̇͂Į̷̨̧͔̭͉͙͖́͂̓̊̊̔̎̐͆̾̿͗͐͘̕͜T̸̤̱̱̪͈̝͚͂̆͜,̵̹͇̻̎̂͑̆͝ ̴̖̖͋̓̐͂͝--



"--who has a low tolerance."

She downed the drink in once gulp, cringing both through the slight burn and Odile's increasing volume. However, it seized upon the alcohol hitting their collective system.

M̸m̴m̷m̶m̶m̵ ̸t̷h̵a̸t̴'̷s̵ ̴s̸o̵m̶e̶ ̷g̷o̶o̷d̸ ̴s̶h̴i̶t̶.̸ ̵

Gods, I've never wanted to shoot anything dead more in my entire life.

Y̴o̴u̷ ̴a̶l̸w̴a̵y̸s̴ ̴k̸n̷o̷w̵ ̴j̴u̶s̶t̶ ̶w̵h̸a̴t̷ ̴t̵o̵ ̶s̴a̵y̸,̶ ̴y̷o̸u̴'̴r̵e̴ ̷s̸o̴ ̶s̸w̷e̶e̵t̶.̸ ̷

Prim watches with bemusement as the woman explains the drink and then tosses it back in a single gulp, shuddering as it goes down. "Huh." Must be nasty stuff. "So it's not water. Not sure I understand what the salt is for, but you've got my interest." She gestures at the barkeep and requests one of her own. He prepares her a tiny glass just like the other woman's, rims it with salt and places a slice of some green berry she doesn't recognize on the rim. He gives a short explanation for how to drink it as he pushes the shotglass towards her. "Tiny cup for me too, eh? Guess it's not just because she's a shortstack. Alright." She smiles a little. "Let's give it a try."

She lifts the glass a little and wordlessly toasts Odette, the shotglass truly like a thimble in her huge hands. Then she licks the salt as instructed and downs the shot in one go. She attempts to move the berry slice to her mouth to suck its juice as instructed, but doesn't get that far before recoiling at the searing sensation of the drink. It's everything she has not to spray the stuff out of her mouth; she swallows it hard and coughs relentlessly, her whole body racked in shivers, the burning feeling of the spirit trickling all the way down her throat and into her stomach.

"Fuck," she manages, clearing her throat profusely. She's impressed now with how slightly Odette had reacted to taking the same shot. This has to be a thousand times stronger than any drink available back home. Her face feels hot. "Not water. I get it. Okay." She claps her cheeks and takes a deep breath, then tries to recover at least a little composure. "Name's Prim, by the way."

“I don’t need no fucking help to read the menu!” he snarled, gripping the edge of the bar hard. “I can read just fine! What the hell kind of question is that?”

And the woman wasn’t done there. Ordinarily Nate would have found it pretty funny, her comparing this place’s tequila to water, but when she was hassling some girl half her size who’d only been able to stammer out a self-deprecating excuse? Fuck this lady, seriously.

“What the hell is your damage?” he asked. “What, can’t find nobody your own size to pick on because they don’t let no Snorlax on the ship?”

"You need to cool it," Prim says tersely. The alcohol is doing no favors for her emotional regulation, but she's been dealing with a bigger asshole than this every day for the past several weeks. "I didn't intend any offense. I just said it's nothing to be ashamed of. I meant that." What she doesn't say is that she'd offered him help in the first place because she'd extended him the benefit of the doubt for his grotesque staring, a mistake she wouldn't make again—but no need to bring that up. It would only make things worse. For now, she could keep her cool.

Unfortunately, the snorlax comment pushes her beyond her bounds. "So I can't talk to people who aren't my size, is that it?" she snaps back, her stool screeching against the floor as she rises abruptly. "What does that mean for you then? Couldn't find the boat's fucking scarecrow storage closet?"

 

[MintyMimix]

"My home doesn't have any humans in it! I'm so excited to meet real humans!" Coleane said, looking around with her long neck. "They've made so many cool things! Like this 'cruise ship'! I've never seen anything like it back home!"

"Oh! And I'm a trainer!" she added, before looking over the menu again. Seriously, what was this "alcohol" stuff? Was that another human thing?

"Fascinating..." Violet replied, rubbing her chin with intrigue. "It is quite amazing, is it not? I still wonder how it all stays afloat myself!"

Violet's smile widened as she put the pieces together: Pokémon speaking in a human language, from a home without humans to begin with, and unfamiliar with the technology they had in the slightest? Hazel certainly had a point; she was standing in front of a 'scientific nightmare', but that was assuming that science had anything to do with it at all.

"Tell me, before you came to this ship, did you perhaps hop through a portal, or experience a flash of light before you ended up away from your home?" Violet said, picking her head up from her hand. She could feel edges of her grin rise and her teeth show in arrogance as she asked, "Were you magically transported here?"

She winced, pulling her leg inward as she felt a sudden, sharp jab prick at her calf. She looked down with a smarmy smirk as she observed Hazel's frustrated, disapproving glare. "You deserved that one," Hazel berated in Poké-speak, fidgeting with the digits of the claw that had bat at her trainer. It wasn't meant to harm, just to snap her back to reality.

Rolling her eyes, Violet observed the Tropius looking over the menu as she answered the hanging question in her own way. "Don't bother with half of the items on the menu. You need to be 'of age' to have them," she deadpanned as made quotation marks with her fingers. "Seriously, back in my day, anyone could have a fine wine or a bit of whiskey to dull the boredom. What was wrong with that?"

[There are. So many things wrong with that.] Hazel typed on her phone's notepad app, shoving it in Violet's face before retracting it and adding, [And stop saying stuff like that! Do you want to outed as a Faller?!]

As she finished her angry message to Violet, Hazel paused as she registered the last word she had typed. Faller. Could this Tropius, Coleane... be one as well? Was that why Violet was invited, too? Was every passenger on board a Faller, then? There were far too many unknown variables. She needed more information. Foundational knowledge before she could form a hypothesis. And a control group, if possible.

Deciding to directly address the Coleane, she rephrased Violet's question and asked in Poké-speak, "Are you... from another era, or even world?" It didn't register to Hazel that she left her Rotom Phone on the table after she asked the question.

 

[Seren]

"Um...s-sure. I'd like your help," Gen said, beginning to smile. He decided not to mention that his own biggest fear was being alone.

"Excellent!" Olivia screeched cheerfully. Now they were getting somewhere! "I'm really good at finding lost things! This should be super easy! Tell me about your human! What kinds of things do they like?" Or maybe a more direct approach would help the poor oshawott relax. "Do you have any idea where they may have been heading? Where did you last see them?"

 

[ShiniGojira]

Deciding she'd try to see what was going on, Violet gestured for Hazel to follow as they approached the Pokémon duo. While Violet kept her eyes above them searching for their trainer, Hazel took a bow and made a few yips and meows in her native tongue as she gestured to ask, "Hello; sorry for the intrusion. We wanted to learn a bit more about the dining here. Where do we get these dishes? Did your trainer provide them?"

June paused, with the spoon in his mouth, turned to the person who spoke.

A Weavile? He raised a brow and grinned upon hearing the questions coming from her.

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by an approaching Tropius.

Curious to see what they'd be talking about, he decided to wait and listen.

Why was everyone so amazed at her being able to talk? It's like they'd never met a Pokemon before! But they clearly had! What gave?

"Yeppers, I can talk! Just as natural as flying for me!" the Tropius said, letting her wings fall back. "I'm Coleane! Nice to meet you!"

Another talking Pokémon, huh? Now that peaked his interest.

"My home doesn't have any humans in it! I'm so excited to meet real humans!" Coleane said, looking around with her long neck. "They've made so many cool things! Like this 'cruise ship'! I've never seen anything like it back home!"

And they were from a world without humans... huh, how peculiar... was it like Litno's world or Pixels' and Scales'?

Oh! And I'm a trainer!" she added, before looking over the menu again. Seriously, what was this "alcohol" stuff? Was that another human thing?

Wait a minute–

He pointed a claw at Coleane, standing on his seat. "You're a trainer too?"

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

At first she'd thought the invitation was another Perihelion sponsorship thing, or maybe an opportunity sent by her contact on the inside, some gladhanding PR bullshit event that'd get her further on the path to the truth. Turned out it was irrelevant. Turned out it was weirder.

The first thing Laura did after readign the bloody invite was to search online for any background on this 'Festival of Friendship' or this 'Xavian Montorzi' guy. Nothing. Maybe it was some kind of gimmicky ARG thing, something new? How'd they fucking find her to invite her in the first place? She couldn't even find anything by searching for the exact text of the invite. Was she the only one on the planet with this invite?

Then the portal opened, and she stepped through, and it all clicked into place. This was some interdimensional game straight out of a fucking young adult sci-fi/fantasy novel, and she was probably going to have to solve the mystery of a cult or conspiracy or something, or murder a dozen other contestants, or something else equally fucked. And for some reason, she pressed yes instead of smashing her phone and disappearing into the goddamn woods.

She was out of her goddamn mind.

<><><><><>

"Ever been on a ship before, Mal?"

<On occasion, yes. My kind are not averse to diving for prey, and so large oceangoing vessels suit me well enough. These modern palaces-at-sea are unlike any I've boarded so far, however. I take it this is a first for you as well.>

The enormous noivern at her side craned his neck to look about the reception hall, with its finery and high decor. From his scowl, he was an unimpressed as he was with any of mankind's artifice.

<I may fly about the vessel to gain my bearings. Spacious as its halls are, I'd rather navigate externally than crawl through its guts.>

"Understandable. Have a good flight."

Malachai backed away and launched himself from the ship with enough force to make it sway a good centimetre or so. Laura winced, and took a quick snap of the map pinned to a nearby wall, before setting off for the lido deck, hoping there'd be a poolside bar and grille or something. Good enough place as any to get her bearings, relax, eat some real foood, and meet any other human who might have some idea what this was about. Plus, Malachai could swoop down on request if she needed him. She got the feeling she would.

 

[Chibi Pika]

May hesitated for a sick heartbeat. "Not really," she said. "Look, I mean, Pikachu don't just... is he some kind of superclone or what? Where'd you get him?"

If she hadn’t been standing in one spot, Jade probably would have tripped. She fought to keep her face neutral even as her mind was reeling. Superclone? Who just GUESSES that??

This girl couldn’t be… she wasn’t involved with the Rockets, was she? She was about the same age as the other rebels, but… no, there was only one rebel team. The deserters from two years ago weren’t kids. So why…

Nine looked guarded, but like, a normal amount, not a ‘ready to fight’ amount, so that was something. “That’s a strange thing to guess,” he said, gazing at the girl intently.

Jade rubbed the back of her head. “Most people just assume he’s a regional variant.” There was an awkward pause. “I rescued him,” she added, without knowing why.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

-snip-

Gladion took leave of the main deck, looking for somewhere without security cameras for him to safely release Hazel. This ship reminded him of Aether, in that way, except here he didn't already know what places were private. Fun.

He did find a spot on the deck that seemed unlikely to be in sight of anything. One that wouldn't be in sight of anyone, either, if he'd been the first one there, but he'd no such luck today. Still, she looked relatively normal, and it wasn't as if he'd never let ordinary trainers see Hazel before. He steeled his nerves and approached.

"Um, hey. You, uhh, wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you? Or who the guy hosting this is? Didn't get a chance to look him up before my ambush-vitation went off and I have no signal here."

Great. Real natural.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Laura waved, and tried for the friendliest smile she could manage while still seeming natural. This boy sounded like he was from somewhere in Arcadia – Unova, maybe? He was kindof awkward, despite initiating the conversation. That helped, weirdly. So did the fact he was just a little guy, despite the edgy outfit.

"Uh, hello. No, actually, I haven't the first bloody clue. I did a proper search and got nothing, so I was ready to believe it was a prank."

She extended a hand. "Laura Weir. I'm from Circhester, in Galar."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

He took Laura's hand and shook it. Gently. Most firm handshake purists kinda sucked so he didn't want to be one of them.

He was somewhat relieved at her answer, too. It meant she had no ties to him, and that he wasn't remiss not to know the guy himself. "Gladion Mohn," he offered, opting not to omit his last name. He could always claim to be from a different Mohn family if push came to shove. "I come from Akala, Alola. I've- Wait. You speak Alolan?" He supposed he shouldn't be too surprised. It was one of the more common languages on the internet.

 

[IFBench]

"Excellent!" Olivia screeched cheerfully. Now they were getting somewhere! "I'm really good at finding lost things! This should be super easy! Tell me about your human! What kinds of things do they like?" Or maybe a more direct approach would help the poor oshawott relax. "Do you have any idea where they may have been heading? Where did you last see them?"

"Um...they're not a-a human," Gen admitted, looking down at the ground. "I last s-saw them near a trainer with two bird Pokemon, and..."

"...they're a T-Tropius."

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

You speak Alolan?

"Uh, no? Why—"

Laura cut herself off, raised a hand, thought it through. Portal, weirdness, isekai bullshit. Okay.

"I'm hearing this whole conversation in Galarish right now. Is it in Alolan for you, or something?"

Immediately she began to think of ways to determine how this was actually working, if she was right. Maybe by recording the conversation on text-to-speech and seeing if the phone knew the difference? ...What if it didn't?

 

[Sinderella]

"Fuck," she manages, clearing her throat profusely. She's impressed now with how slightly Odette had reacted to taking the same shot. This has to be a thousand times stronger than any drink available back home. Her face feels hot. "Not water. I get it. Okay." She claps her cheeks and takes a deep breath, then tries to recover at least a little composure. "Name's Prim, by the way."

Odette couldn’t help but…smile. Just a little. She was much more gracious than she was anticipating. That’s what she got for judging a book by its cover, she supposed. It was almost funny watching the absolute visceral reaction she had to the tequila. Odette felt a brief sense of triumph wash over her, knowing she was able to keep her composure while this buff woman had such a hard time with it. Must have been her first time. Still, that was a win. Odile could fucking suck it.

“Ah, I’m Odette,” she replied. “If you liked that, I’d suggest a shot of vodka next. It also looks like water, and burns worse.”

The things Clovis taught her about liquor, good gods.

Unfortunately, the snorlax comment pushes her beyond her bounds. "So I can't talk to people who aren't my size, is that it?" she snaps back, her stool screeching against the floor as she rises abruptly. "What does that mean for you then? Couldn't find the boat's fucking scarecrow storage closet?"

However, now it looked like things were getting heated between Prim and…the other guy. Whatever his name was. She wasn’t one to play mediator, but the longer she was bearing witness to their building hostility, the more she felt her own starting to swell. She could hear Odile’s idiot ass cackling in her brain.

“Maybe a bar isn’t the ideal place for this…” she muttered, as if that would do anything to deescalate what was going on. Drinks and fighting tended to ALWAYS mix, of fucking course. However, being as aggro as she was, she wasn’t sure what else could even be said.

“Seriously, maybe not a good idea.”

N̶o̵,̸ ̸l̷e̵t̴ ̷t̶h̸e̷m̵ ̵f̴i̸g̴h̸t̸.̸ ̸I̷ ̶w̴a̴n̴t̷ ̴t̷o̴ ̵s̸e̶e̸ ̷m̴y̵ ̴t̶w̵o̴ ̸n̷e̷w̵ ̴b̸e̶s̷t̵ ̶f̴r̸i̶e̴n̴d̶s̸ ̵k̸i̷l̸l̷ ̴e̷a̴c̶h̷ ̵o̵t̴h̶e̸r̴.̸

I—fucking gods, shut UP.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

"I'm hearing this whole conversation in Galarish right now. Is it in Alolan for you, or something?"

Gladion took a step back, startled. “Ah. That’s weird. Because yeah, it is. That’s probably bad. This is quickly exiting the realm of what I’d consider plausible.”

 

[HelloYellow17]

("Hello there!") Victoria waved her fin as a human would wave their hand. ("Who might you be? Where do you come from?")

In the middle of interrogating the poor smaller blue pokemon, Olivia's psychic senses tingled; there was another psychic nearby. A quick curious scan of the area revealed... another espeon!! And not just that, but an umbreon, too! Olivia immediately started to turn and dash in that direction, but caught sight of the bigger blue pokemon as she did so and stopped. Right. Right now, she was supposed to be protecting her trainer from a danger she wasn't even aware of! So Olivia couldn't just run off, despite how every fiber of her being wanted to go and investigate. Plus, it would be rude to just harass the smaller blue pokemon and then just run away.

“Spi, spi, espi-spiiii!”

Wes nearly jumped out of skin with Neo suddenly sprang to his paws, chirping ecstatically. The Espeon was dancing on his toes and practically prancing around Wes’ stool, looking up at him with wide, sparkling eyes and pointing with his snout over across the deck to…

Oh. Another Espeon. Wes supposed he shouldn’t be surprised at that; if this boat was full of rich people, of course he’d be bound to run into other rare Pokémon such as Eeveelutions…

He also noticed a massive, sparkling water-type waving at them from the pool, and she appeared to be calling them over.

“Spiiiiiiii!!” Neo rose on his hind legs and planted his paws on Wes’ knees. Gods above, he was almost wailing at this point. Wes noticed a few heads turning in their direction.

Gods-dammit. “Fine—Neo—fine, okay, all right!” he hurriedly hissed under his breath. “You guys can go, but don’t cause trouble, keep an eye out, and try to find out who these trainers are, okay?”

Wes wasn’t sure Neo even heard that last part, as the Espeon was already halfway across the deck before he finished his sentence. He sighed and rubbed at his temples.

“Brrr?” Wes glanced down at Novo, who was still planted at his feet and was looking up at him with big, sad eyes.

“I said both of you, didn’t I?” He’d meant for it to come out as an irritable grumble, but he couldn’t be annoyed at that face. He sighed and rubbed Novo’s ear. “Go keep an eye on Neo and keep him out of trouble, okay? And don’t go too far.”

Novo excitedly jumped to his paws and chirped happily. He offered an affectionate rub against Wes’ knee before turning and trotting after his brother.

Wes sighed again. He was getting a headache. This damn trip was just going to be endless stress…but the alternative would have been to stay behind and drown in his guilt and gnawing thoughts…gods, he would love something to drink right about now, but alcohol was a terrible idea if he wanted to remain as alert and attentive as possible. He wasn’t sure he wanted to trust the drinks in this place, anyway.

Instead, he leaned back against the counter and did a sweep of the deck, observing the various passengers and checking in on Neo and Novo about every thirty seconds. Nobody seemed too out of sorts here, and everyone appeared pretty relaxed—

A few minutes later, he found himself standing on the top deck, as far away from everyone else as he could get, staring out across the ocean. He'd kept his bandana up, and had also shifted his goggles to cover his eyes. Just in case any Snagem or Cipher motherfuckers were here too.

…except for whoever the hell they were. Merciful Mew, they couldn’t have looked more suspicious if they’d tried. Oddly, this put Wes at ease just a little. Surely if this person was a threat, Cipher wouldn’t have been stupid enough to send him in that ridiculous getup, black trench coat and all.

Unfortunately, the snorlax comment pushes her beyond her bounds. "So I can't talk to people who aren't my size, is that it?" she snaps back, her stool screeching against the floor as she rises abruptly. "What does that mean for you then? Couldn't find the boat's fucking scarecrow storage closet?"

He snapped his gaze around at the sound of raised voices. Damn, a bar fight? Already? He shifted his position and leaned in in an attempt to hear what was being said.

 

[Seren]

"Um...they're not a-a human," Gen admitted, looking down at the ground. "I last s-saw them near a trainer with two bird Pokemon, and..."

"...they're a T-Tropius."

This oshawott sure was a tiny ball of anxiety and confusion, wasn't he? "They're a... what? Another pokemon? Pokemon can train pokemon?!" Olivia asked, mischievous gleam in her eye.

But that would have to wait. "I can find your, uh, trainer, then!" She turned back to her own, nudging her in the back of her leg.

---

Kimiko looked down in surprise as her espeon nearly knocked her feet out from underneath her. Apparently while she was distracted, Olivia had befriended another pokemon, and... what was she jittering about?

With a small sigh, she stood up to address the weather-trainer. "Would you excuse me? It was nice to meet you!"

"Aw, are you lost, little guy?" Kimiko asked, kneeling down closer to the oshawott. Olivia continued to chatter away, and then began making some very unusual gestures. "Missing your trainer, yeah? A... something with wings?" Her confusion quickly mirrored Olivia's as she tried to puzzle out what that could mean. Maybe someone wearing a cape? Or maybe a teammate? She'd seen a tropius when she arrived, and not too long ago she'd noticed a noivern circling the ship, too.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

Gladion took a step back, startled. “Ah. That’s weird. Because yeah, it is. That’s probably bad. This is quickly exiting the realm of what I’d consider plausible.”

Laura shrugged.

"You look younger than me, Gladion. Aren't we all supposed to be jaded to wild bullshit by now? I mean, I'm just talking about public shit like Eternatus appearing above Wyndon to trounce the regional champ, but personally? I've seen too much weird shit this year to be that phased by whatever this is. Some psychic translation thing, maybe? It's a much less scary technology than, like, genetically engineered hybrids and shit."

She pulled her mouth in an awkward grimace at blurting that part out. It hardly seemed to matter, in the middle of an unknown ocean and talking to someone from the other side of the planet, and maybe not even the same planet at that.

 

[AbraPunk]

…except for whoever the hell they were. Merciful Mew, they couldn’t have looked more suspicious if they’d tried. Oddly, this put Wes at ease just a little. Surely if this person was a threat, Cipher wouldn’t have been stupid enough to send him in that ridiculous getup, black trench coat and all.

Nico sensed someone nearby, and whipped around, staring at... an impostor? Yes, it seemed there was someone attempting to imitate Wes here.

He nudged his trainer's leg, trying to get his attention.

--

Wes jolted slightly upon feeling Nico nudging him, and followed the Espeon's gaze to some dumb motherfucker that was clearly trying to mock him. He snarled, and turned fully to look at the man.

Stomping over, Wes stopped a few feet in front of the guy, having to tilt his head down slightly due to just how tall he was-- of course helped by his platform boots.

"Who the fuck are you, huh? Trying to mock me? Who sent you?"

Nico stalked around his feet and glared daggers at the impostor.

 

[Hanafuda]

View attachment 2886
Odette couldn’t help but…smile. Just a little. She was much more gracious than she was anticipating. That’s what she got for judging a book by its cover, she supposed. It was almost funny watching the absolute visceral reaction she had to the tequila. Odette felt a brief sense of triumph wash over her, knowing she was able to keep her composure while this buff woman had such a hard time with it. Must have been her first time. Still, that was a win. Odile could fucking suck it.

“Ah, I’m Odette,” she replied. “If you liked that, I’d suggest a shot of vodka next. It also looks like water, and burns worse.”

The things Clovis taught her about liquor, good gods.


View attachment 2888

However, now it looked like things were getting heated between Prim and…the other guy. Whatever his name was. She wasn’t one to play mediator, but the longer she was bearing witness to their building hostility, the more she felt her own starting to swell. She could hear Odile’s idiot ass cackling in her brain.

“Maybe a bar isn’t the ideal place for this…” she muttered, as if that would do anything to deescalate what was going on. Drinks and fighting tended to ALWAYS mix, of fucking course. However, being as aggro as she was, she wasn’t sure what else could even be said.

“Seriously, maybe not a good idea.”

N̶o̵,̸ ̸l̷e̵t̴ ̷t̶h̸e̷m̵ ̵f̴i̸g̴h̸t̸.̸ ̸I̷ ̶w̴a̴n̴t̷ ̴t̷o̴ ̵s̸e̶e̸ ̷m̴y̵ ̴t̶w̵o̴ ̸n̷e̷w̵ ̴b̸e̶s̷t̵ ̶f̴r̸i̶e̴n̴d̶s̸ ̵k̸i̷l̸l̷ ̴e̷a̴c̶h̷ ̵o̵t̴h̶e̸r̴.̸

I—fucking gods, shut UP.

“I guess she’s too busy trying to calm down the human,” Jack muttered, looking at the Sylveon in defeat.

“Ah well,” Zack said, shrugging. “I don’t know what to do here. Any ideas?”

“Hmmm… If I’m not wrong, I think she talked to the Sylveon as if she understood her.”

“Say what?”

“This could be risky, considering her temper, but…” Jack looked at Zack with a worried grimace. “Do you think it’d be worth drawing her attention directly to you?”

“Uh…” The Pidgey rubbed his shoulder nervously. “Can you give me time before I try?”

“Huh.” The Farfetch’d rubbed his beak, intrigued. “You’re scared. You usually don’t back out from anything.”

“When it comes to trainin’, yeah, I never say no, but this is different. We’re dealing with an angry woman here!”

“I’m just curious. Can she understand us?”

“Okay, okay, I’ll go for it.”

Zack bent his knees and jumped high, flapping his wings in midair once to gain more height and landing on the bar’s counter.

“You wanted an excuse to show off your ‘Double Jump’, right?” Jack asked, crossing his wings over his chest.

“Yeah,” Zack replied, rubbing behind his head. “Hope she saw that.” He took a deep breath and sighed heavily. He puffed up his chest and tried to remain brave.

“Heya, lady!” the Pidgey chirped out to Odette.