Hooooonk!
On the calm, azure sea, a medium-sized ship slowly approached the harbor amid a long blast of its horn.
Although the coastal city was bustling and its docks were lively, a closer look revealed that the passengers aboard had no interest in admiring the scenery. Instead, all their attention was on the deck.
There, a Pokémon battle was drawing to a close.
The two opposing Pokémon were a Lucario and an electric squirrel, Pachirisu, while their Trainers were a handsome man around twenty and a pretty, adorable girl dressed fashionably in a short skirt.
Needless to say, they were Xia You and Dawn.
After leaving Lily of the Valley Island, they had first headed to a larger dock and transferred to a bigger ship, then departed Sinnoh for the Unova Region.
With nothing to do aboard and several days of sailing ahead, boredom was inevitable, so the two often practiced Pokémon battles like this to help Dawn improve. They had already lost count of how many times they had practiced over the past few days.
Around them, some passengers with nothing to do watched the practice match with interest, watching Pachirisu attack relentlessly yet make no headway against Lucario's meticulous defense.
Some could not help shaking their heads.
The gap in strength between the two Pokémon was simply too great.
Though the pretty girl worked hard, she had not won a single match after battling for so long.
People were genuinely a little worried for her.
Yet the girl remained enthusiastic and seemed utterly unbothered, which surprised them.
After all... it was rare to see someone lose more the longer they fought, yet grow more motivated with every defeat.
Growing braver with every setback-what a good disposition.
Elsewhere, Cheryl and Cogita lay lazily sunbathing in deck chairs. Their stunning