Kusunoki Shipyard

The train from Slateport City to Rustboro City took just over two hours, passing through Mauville City and Verdanturf Town. Fortunately, the cave between Verdanturf Town and Rustboro City had been opened up; otherwise, they would have had to detour around Mt. Chimney.

If they went by way of Littleroot Town, they would first have to take a bus, then transfer to a ferry, and finally switch to a train. It was far too troublesome. Going by way of Dewford Town would mean taking another two ships, and just thinking about it was unbearable.

Kam had bought tickets for the two o'clock train. During this free time, he planned to take Zeno to visit Kusunoki Shipyard.

"Uncle Kam, aren't we going to Rustboro City now?"

"It's still early. Didn't you say that once you made money, you'd buy me a big passenger ship? Haha, I'll take you to see the shipyard now."

"The shipyard!"

The moment he heard that, Zeno was instantly interested.

"That's right. Speaking of this shipyard in Slateport City, its reputation is anything but ordinary. It's one of the leading enterprises in the Hoenn Region. Their director, Kusunoki, is the finest naval engineer in Hoenn."

"That's amazing!"

"They allow visitors into the factory. If you're interested, you can go inside and have a look later."

"That's great! Thank you, Uncle Kam."

The wooden boats in Big Shell Village had been bought from their company too, though they had been purchased from the Lilycove City branch. Still, Kam had dealt with them for more than a decade, so he knew their rules quite well.

Kusunoki Shipyard was enormous. Though its decor looked simple, it gave off an upscale, grand impression. Two pretty young women were working at the reception desk.

"Hello, miss. I'd like to ask about the price of passenger ships."

Before Kam could say anything, Zeno had already stepped forward on his own.

"What an adorable little brother. Is your family buying a ship?"

When Yumi saw a child calling out to her, she immediately stood up. Only then did she realize he was a handsome little boy, with eyes as blue as the sea and a streak of blue hair amid his neat black hair.

"Not yet, but we'll buy one in the future. Could you tell me about it, big sister?"

If it had been anyone else, Yumi would have ignored him outright. But faced with a child like Zeno, she was surprisingly patient.

"That depends on the configuration. If it's a passenger ship, the cheapest starts at two million!"

"So... so expensive."

"Haha, it is rather expensive. But something this high-tech requires meticulous materials, manufacturing, assembly, and labor. Our shipyard has been open for many years, and everyone knows our quality. We treat young and old alike fairly!"

"I know, but it still feels so expensive..."

"This is actually not bad. Do you know the Wavebreaker?"

"I do. We took that ship here from Lilycove City."

"Lilycove City? That really is quite far. But as you saw, a ship like the Wavebreaker costs at least fifty million!"

Zeno: "!!!"

"Haha, you're so cute." Yumi could not help laughing at his stunned expression. "Would you like to visit the shipyard behind us?"

"Can I?"

"No problem. Wait here a moment. I'll have someone cover for me, then I'll take you over for a tour."

Yumi gathered up her things and went inside to find a colleague to help out.

Zeno and Uncle Kam sat and waited for a while. Uncle Kam was fairly calm, since he had visited before. Zeno, on the other hand, was excited. His eyes darted everywhere, and he found it hard to calm down.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. Let's go."

Zeno followed behind Yumi as she slowly led them into the factory at the back. There were many people coming and going inside. Some carried steel, some welded steel plates, and some sat at computers...

"Look over here. Most of our steel is mined near Meteor Falls. Some of the more critical parts come from steel rock beneath the sea. It's extremely strong, so even if the ship hits a reef while sailing, it won't be affected."

Yumi pointed at the raw materials area beside them as she explained. There were many towering furnaces over there. Although the transparent glass walls on this side blocked the heat, just looking at them made Zeno want to sweat.

"Over here, over here. Look at these masters. They all have the very best welding skills. I'm not just bragging—we've even taken orders from Mossdeep City's Space Center!"

Yumi sounded rather proud when she mentioned this. The Space Center in Mossdeep was extremely strict, and only a handful of companies in all of Hoenn could meet its standards.

Both Zeno and Kam watched intently. These people's work was delicate, yet they seemed to make very few mistakes. A sense of admiration for these craftsmen rose naturally in their hearts.

"Next is this area. Do you see those people sitting at the computer desks?" Yumi pointed out the programmers to Zeno.

"What are they doing?" Zeno asked.

"The ones on the left are drawing blueprints. All those basic components are made according to their designs, and there can't be even the slightest error. The ones on the right are debugging programs. Smart passenger ships all have their own control systems, and these people have to make sure they're compatible with every ship."

"That's amazing!"

"Haha, I think so too. Finally, let's take a look at the assembly area."

"Okay, okay."

After looking around for so long, what interested Zeno most was still the passenger ships. Now that he was finally about to see them, he was already growing impatient.

The assembly area was huge, with many different types of passenger ships displayed there. There were far more workers than in the previous sections. Although everyone was busy, the work proceeded in perfect order.

"Look, this is the kind I was just telling you about—the two-million one."

Yumi pointed out a relatively small passenger ship to Zeno. The ship had already taken rough shape. Even the smallest model was much larger than the wooden boats in Big Shell Village and could easily hold dozens of people.

"Come back to earth. The next one is the real highlight!"

Yumi gave the dazed Zeno a push and led him farther ahead. Slowly, an enormous passenger ship appeared before the three of them. Kam and Zeno stared at it, too shocked to close their mouths.

"This one is called the Sea God. It's an order from Kanto."

"Kanto?"

"That's right. It's expected to begin official operations next May. It'll travel back and forth between Vermilion City in Kanto and Slateport City in Hoenn. If you want to visit Kanto someday, little brother, you can give it a try."

Hearing that, Zeno felt deeply excited as well.

"All right, that's basically the end of the tour. If you're interested in passenger ships, little brother, you can visit the Oceanic Museum. They have many ship models on display!"

Seeing that Zeno still wanted more, Yumi pointed him toward another place to visit.

"Thank you, big sister! I'll definitely go when I have the time."