As he got closer to the S.S. Anne, Caleb felt more and more like it was a floating city on water.
It had twenty-six floors in total, with twenty-two of them open to the public.
From shopping malls to opera houses, movie theaters to gourmet food courts—everything was available to satisfy every kind of traveler.
And that wasn't all.
Taking into account the number of Pokémon Trainers on board, the 22nd floor of the S.S. Anne was specially designated as a Pokémon battle zone.
It was equipped with the most advanced protection systems, designed to withstand even World Championship-level combat. No matter how wild things got, nothing would go wrong.
After boarding the ship, Caleb handed his luggage over to the waiting attendant and, following the signs, smoothly arrived at his VIP suite on the 18th floor.
The moment he entered, he was greeted by a three-meter-high ceiling and over a hundred square meters of space. It even came with a small balcony and two comfy lounge chairs.
Caleb glanced around the room, exhaled deeply, and released all his Pokémon.
Chansey, Pachirisu, Gastly, and Litten—these were the four he brought for this trip.
"Meow~"
Faced with the unfamiliar surroundings, Litten looked a bit lost and unsure.
Luckily, Chansey stepped in. Mimicking the mothers it had seen on TV, it gently cradled Litten in its arms and comforted it.
Pachirisu, on the other hand, had zero such concerns and immediately claimed the entire bed without hesitation.
Gastly was acting a little odd—or rather, it had been acting weird for a while now. The trouble it usually stirred up had noticeably decreased lately.
At the moment, it was hiding in a shadowy corner, flipping through a red dictionary it had pulled from its mouth.
Yes, Gastly was learning to read!
Caleb had been shocked at first, but hey, if a Pokémon takes the initiative to develop a hobby, that's a good thing. So he didn't interrupt.
He'd barely laid down for a few minutes when there was a knock at the door.
Opening it, he found Fiona and Green, both staying in the room next door.
Fiona held up a flyer and said, "Caleb, let's join this!"
A fishing tournament?
The flyer featured a dazzling mermaid reeling in a Milotic with a fishing rod.
Fishing competitions were apparently a pretty common form of grassroots event in the Pokémon world.
Every region had them.
Caleb didn't really mind. They were here to have fun anyway, and fun was the priority.
The fishing tournament was scheduled for the next day. By then, the cruise would be anchored in a sea zone near the Lental region.
Lental?
Caleb blinked.
After Green reminded him, he recalled that Lental was an undeveloped island chain.
It also happened to be the setting for Pokémon Snap.
Besides the nine main regions in the Pokémon world, there were plenty of less-developed areas—like Lental and Orre.
Lental, in particular, was a paradise for researchers. It had long been closed off, and outside Trainers weren't allowed to capture Pokémon there.
Rumor had it that the region had a unique phenomenon where Pokémon would glow in a rainbow sheen.
Caleb had heard that Snap was kind of boring, so he'd skipped it back then. Not much else he knew.
The three of them went to the deck to register for the tournament.
The receptionist Joy just so happened to be Fiona's great-aunt, so the process went surprisingly smoothly.
Another perk of traveling with Fiona—there was always a relative nearby.
Caleb couldn't help but wonder: just how big is the Joy family, anyway?
With that thought in mind, he followed Green and Fiona as they explored the S.S. Anne's many amenities.
They visited no fewer than five stores in the shopping district before reaching a bustling vendor's stand in the lounge area.
"I'm telling you, this Magikarp lays golden eggs!"
"And its breeding ability is unmatched—it can lay a thousand golden eggs at once. Then each of those a thousand Magikarp lays another thousand, and before you know it, you're a billionaire!"
Caleb: ...
Why does that pitch sound so familiar?
Of course—it's that Magikarp scam uncle again.
The same guy who tricked James countless times, now shamelessly repeating the same script word for word.
Surely no one would actually fall for this, right? Just then, the Magikarp uncle clapped his paper fan and shouted:
"Usually I sell this for ten thousand, but today, you get the Magikarp, the egg-laying machine, the breeding kit, and the education unit all for thirty thousand! First come, first served!"
"I'll take it!" A neatly dressed young rich boy raised his hand at the front of the crowd.
The butler behind him looked like he'd just swallowed a lemon, but under the boy's insistence, he reluctantly paid up.
Caleb: ...
Wait, someone actually bought it?
That Magikarp isn't even worth being given away at the wet market. Not every Magikarp can become a Gyarados, after all.
Green's eyes sparkled as she watched the scam in awe. She'd thought she was ruthless in business, but this guy was a whole new level.
Next time, I'm pulling the same stunt!
Caleb couldn't stand this kind of thing. Out of principle, he immediately called Officer Jenny on the ship to report the scam.
Just as he was putting his phone away—
Suddenly—
A commotion broke out in the distance.
"Give me back my Pokémon!"
???
In broad daylight?! Someone was snatching Pokémon in public? Did they just forget the Pokémon League's constitution existed?
Caleb squeezed through the crowd and quickly got a clear view of the argument.
One was a kid around fifteen or sixteen, sporting dyed blond hair and giving off full-on delinquent vibes.
The other looked way younger—maybe eight or nine—wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. Definitely had that nerdy schoolkid energy.
The two were wrestling on the ground, grabbing at each other's clothes and refusing to back down.
Caleb was instantly transported back to his middle school days.
"You're so annoying! It was just a battle—why can't you take a loss?" the delinquent snapped.
"I never agreed to bet my Pokémon—you just grabbed it!" the kid shot back defiantly.
Wow.
That's a thing?
Just then, Fiona also stepped forward. Well-educated and with a strong sense of justice, she clearly couldn't stand someone stealing another's Pokémon and immediately went to intervene.
Thankfully, Officer Jenny—whom Caleb had called earlier—arrived just in time.
Caleb figured this was way more urgent than the Magikarp scam anyway. Let the pros handle it.
In the end, with Officer Jenny's help, the bespectacled kid got his Pokémon back, and the delinquent got hauled off for a "chat."
In some places, using Pokémon as stakes in battles was still a thing—but the fact it hadn't been banned yet? Absolutely disgusting.
Just as Caleb was about to head off for dinner, a voice called out behind him.
"Big brother, thanks for helping just now."
Caleb turned around—it was the kid with the glasses.
"I asked Officer Jenny, and she said it was you who called her," the kid added, bowing again in gratitude.
This time, Caleb got a good look at his face—glasses, green shirt, little kid…
"What's your name?" Caleb asked.
"I'm Max, from the Hoenn region," the kid replied naturally.
Damn!
All he did was go on a trip and he'd already bumped into a former main character?!
"So your dad Norman is nearby?" Caleb asked.
If Norman were here, that delinquent would've been flattened by a Mega Punch the moment he made a move.
"Um… I'm traveling alone. Dad didn't come," Max said, a little embarrassed.
"You're traveling? How old are you?" Caleb asked in disbelief.
Judging from his size, the kid still looked like a baby!
"Nine years old—but I'm ten in lunar years. I'm already an adult."
Got it.