Arrival in Dewford Town

After finding Peeko, Old Man Hachi was overjoyed and readily took the three of them out to sea without even asking for fare.

Hachi's boat was small and looked rather old. Zeno had never seen this model of ship even at Kusunoki Shipyard, so it had probably been built a very long time ago.

"Grandpa Hachi, have you always lived alone over by the bay?" Zeno was rather curious about his story.

"Yep. When people get old, they start craving peace and quiet."

"Your boat is quite unique. Is it an old model?"

"You mean the Peeko? I built it myself."

"That's amazing!" Zeno looked at him with open admiration.

"Haha, it's nothing much. Just a little skill. I'm not bragging, but that kid Kusunoki has been inviting me to work as a consultant at his shipyard!"

"Grandpa Hachi, were you also a navigator when you were young?" Zeno asked curiously.

"It wasn't as grand as you make it sound. I used to be just an ordinary sailor, though I really did travel to many places and have plenty of adventures. After I retired, I planned to spend my old age here. Then one day, Peeko flew over, and it felt as though I had seen my youth again."

"Peeko really likes you too, Grandpa Hachi!"

Whenever Hachi steered the boat, Peeko obediently stood on his shoulder, quietly keeping him company.

"Thanks to this little one, even though it can be a bit scatterbrained, my later years have gained a little more color. Whenever I have nothing to do, I like taking this boat out for a ride with it." Hachi's voice turned gentle as he spoke, like that of a kindly old grandfather next door.

"Grandpa Hachi, you traveled to so many places when you were young. You must know a lot of outstanding navigators."

"What, are you interested, kid?" Hachi got along quite well with him.

"Yeah. Someday, I'm definitely going to become an incredibly great navigator!"

"Hahaha, not bad! You've got ambition. Men like us should fear neither wind nor waves! I know plenty of navigators, but you've probably never heard of them. Still, there's one person you definitely know!"

"Who?"

"Drake."

"Hoenn's Dragon Elite Four member?"

"Yep, that old fellow. He's already so old, yet he refuses to step down from the Elite Four. He's a captain. Whenever he isn't working for the Pokémon League, he sails around all over the place."

From his tone, Zeno could tell that he and Elite Four member Drake must have been especially close. It was simply that the Pokémon League kept Drake on and would not let him retire.

"So Elite Four member Drake has an identity like that too. I really want the chance to meet him!" Zeno truly wanted to learn some experience from him.

"He's not easy to meet. He's always sailing around somewhere, and even the Pokémon League people might not be able to find him."

Zeno kept pestering Old Man Hachi to tell them about the adventures of his younger days. Looking at Zeno's eager face, Hachi seemed to see his younger self.

Old Man Hachi's boat was not particularly fast. It took a long time to reach Dewford Town, and he had not even told half of his stories, but they greatly broadened Zeno's inner world.

Dewford Town was situated on an isolated island in the southwestern corner of Hoenn. Its location was remote, and although it covered quite a large area, much of it was underused. Compared to Hoenn's other cities, its economy was far less developed.

"So this is Dewford Town. Not bad—we finally made it." Sapphire was very interested in the seaside town and planned to have a good look around.

"It's getting late. Let's stay at the Pokémon Center first! We can explore properly tomorrow morning."

Gu Yan had not wanted to say that last part, but seeing how enthusiastic she was, he could only indulge her. Their teacher had not set a deadline for this trip anyway, so relaxing a little was fine.

When the three arrived at the Pokémon Center, there were still plenty of vacant rooms. Staying at a Pokémon Center cost money, and since not many people came to Dewford Town in the first place, the guest rooms had never been fully occupied.

Using their official Pokédexes to enter the Pokémon Center, they received most services free of charge. Nurse Joy even specially arranged two rather nice rooms for them. Zeno shared one with his senior brother, while Sapphire had one to herself. Sapphire had actually wanted to share with them too, but their eldest senior brother absolutely refused.

Dewford Town developed slowly, and most of its residents retained the living habits of ancient times. There was not even a single chain Poké Mart in town.

The three wandered around town for a while and found that they quite liked the lifestyle here. Though it was not prosperous, everyone had everything they needed. The pace of life was slow, but there were far fewer worries. Zeno thought it would be a good place to retire.

"I just heard that there's a rock-climbing competition being held west of town. Let's go take a look." Sapphire loved joining the crowds, and a climbing competition sounded fun.

Gu Yan and Zeno had no objections. Even if they did not go, Sapphire would have gone by herself.

People who did rock climbing tended to be rather sturdy. The dozen or so contestants all had impressively sculpted builds. Looking at them, Sapphire thought of her father's potbelly. Then she looked at her two senior brothers beside her and imagined them with the same middle-aged figure as her father. Just thinking about it made her eyes hurt.

"You two should remember to exercise more in the future, okay?" Sapphire said earnestly.

The two of them had never expected her to have such a vivid imagination and found her words utterly baffling.

"Who do you think will win?" Zeno ignored her and spoke to himself.

"I don't understand this, so I can't tell."

"Obviously Number Ten. He looks like a champion at first glance." Sapphire pointed at a muscular man, completely confident in her judgment.

"Rock climbing isn't just about muscles." An uncle who overheard their conversation could not help joining in.

"Then who do you think will win, Uncle?"

"Of course, Contestant Number Two. You can tell at a glance that he's trained."

The three looked at the Number Two contestant he had mentioned. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with light blue hair, a black fitted top, and knee-length shorts matching the color of his hair.

"I can't see it. He seems pretty ordinary." Sapphire still trusted her own judgment.

As the four chatted, the rock-climbing competition began. Gu Yan and Zeno were not particularly excited, but Sapphire and the uncle were both extremely enthusiastic.

"Number Ten, go!"

"Number Two, unbeatable!"

Neither of them was willing to concede, and their cheers grew louder and louder.

The cliff used for the competition was rather high, and it took quite a while before the winner was decided. Just as the uncle had predicted, Number Two won the contest.

Sapphire looked like a defeated rooster. She no longer had the energy to keep exploring, and even delicious food seemed tasteless.

"Senior Brother, is she okay?"

"She's fine. She'll forget all about it after one night's sleep. Don't worry."