章節 206: Gifts
Woo——
A melodious whistle echoed.
Johan leaned against the railing on the deck, letting the warm breeze ruffle his hair as he watched Vermilion City fade into the distance.
Since the Pokémon had expressed their desire to take a cruise, Johan, who had already completed his teaching duties and had nothing else to do, naturally agreed to their request.
This time, they were aboard the S.S. Rapidash cruise ship, heading toward Cinnabar Island, located in the southernmost part of the Kanto region.
As the ship departed the port, tourists gradually gathered on the deck. Among them were several trainers who immediately began Pokémon battles on the spot.
Johan's Dragonair, unsurprisingly, caught the attention of many.
As a pseudo-legendary Pokémon from the Kanto region, Dragonair was highly recognizable, especially to teenagers who appeared to be no older than their early teens.
Eventually, one of them mustered the courage to approach him.
"Big brother, let's have an intense Pokémon battle!"
The youngster in beach shorts challenged him eagerly.
Noting the excitement on the boy's face, Johan raised an eyebrow and turned to his Pokémon.
"Do you guys feel like it?"
Dragonair, having only recently evolved, immediately straightened up with enthusiasm.
"Draaa!"
Seeing this, Johan chuckled and gave a slight nod.
Dragonair excitedly slithered over to face the boy.
The boy's excitement grew even more when he realized his opponent would be Dragonair.
"My Raticate won't lose!"
A few seconds later.
A sudden torrent of water nearly engulfed half the deck, leaving many who were unaware of the situation thinking the ship might have capsized.
"So… so powerful!"
The trainers watching alongside the boy gasped in unison.
As for the boy's Raticate…
It barely avoided drowning.
The commotion was so great that it even attracted the sailors on board, forcing Johan to flee with his Pokémon.
That said, Dragonair's evolution had undoubtedly brought a significant leap in strength.
Even the power of its Hydro Pump had greatly increased.
At this point, it could hardly be called a Hydro Pump—it was more like a "Water Release: Who Broke the Dam?!"
Coupled with the newly learned Dragon Dance, Dragonair's strength was now formidable.
"Draaa~~"
Dragonair seemed a bit apologetic about what had happened to Raticate.
Its recent evolution had left it a little too excited, and it had lost control.
This drew a round of knowing laughter from Johan and his Pokémon.
"Battles are like this."
They'd work on control gradually through training.
Upon entering the cabin, Johan discovered that the S.S. Rapidash was incredibly luxurious, with every amenity imaginable.
In addition to spacious accommodations, there was a Pokémon Center, a restaurant, a supermarket, a battle arena, a training room, and more.
Following the principle that no shopping trip is complete without a drink, Johan and his Pokémon each got a fresh berry juice shortly after boarding.
Under the staff's bewildered gaze, Johan even ordered himself a Cheri Berry juice.
Then, with drinks in hand, they strolled leisurely through the cabin.
When they reached the enormous shopping mall onboard, the Pokémon froze in their tracks.
"Well, since we're here, let's buy some gifts," Johan said with a smile.
Truthfully, he hadn't expected the S.S. Rapidash to have a shopping mall.
This was going to be a wallet-draining experience.
The mall was divided into three levels: clothing, trainer supplies, and household goods.
The clothing section sold outfits for trainers as well as various Pokémon clothes and accessories.
The household section had daily necessities, while the trainer supplies section offered a range of common and rare items such as TMs, Poké Balls, and berries.
The moment Johan stepped into the mall, he spotted a signature outfit modeled after Red's.
Unfortunately, Red hadn't debuted yet, let alone become famous, so the outfit wasn't particularly popular.
Johan navigated the aisles while helping his Pokémon pick gifts.
Gengar was the quickest.
It immediately selected a pair of large transparent goggles, claiming they would let it fly faster without worrying about keeping its eyes open.
After purchasing the goggles, Gengar eagerly put them on.
To Johan's surprise, the purple prankster actually looked quite good in them. The goggles gave it a different vibe, less "outlaw" and more playful, which Johan found quite satisfactory.
Tinkatuff chose a Skarmory plushie, which Johan bought without hesitation.
So long as Tinkatuff didn't rip up any part of the cruise ship, such small requests were perfectly fine.
This plushie completed Tinkatuff's collection, which now included all Steel/Flying Pokémon plushies in the world except for Celesteela.
For some reason, Johan couldn't help but look forward to Tinkatuff's reaction if it ever encountered a Celesteela in the future.
He quickly shook off the thought.
"Great, now I'm catching their habits," Johan muttered.
For Dragonair, Johan purchased a soft blanket.
The naturally competitive Pokémon had a fondness for soft things. The old blanket that Johan had used for naps at home had already become Dragonair's go-to bedding, but its quality was subpar, and the fluff was nearly worn out.
Dragonair loved the new blanket so much that it immediately wrapped its tail around it and refused to let go.
The only thing that seemed to bother Dragonair was the lack of Johan's scent on the new blanket.
It glanced slyly at Johan, its eyes darting about, clearly scheming.
As for Vulpix, Johan knew exactly what it wanted: a cute little blue bow to tie around its neck.
"So adorable," Johan praised as he tied the bow on.
"Oowu~~ (//▽//)"
The Pokémon thought their shopping trip was over, but Johan wasn't done yet.
"Since we're buying gifts, we should get something for everyone."
Poor wallet: The unshakable instinct of a generous host strikes again.
Johan went on a shopping spree.
For Meowth, who loved music, he bought a Retro CD, which matched its personality perfectly.
For Wobbuffet, he got a straw hat—it needed protection for that shiny, bald head of its.
For Mew, a delicate music box; for Mewtwo, a philosophy book.
Though neither Mew nor Mewtwo would show up anytime soon, Johan figured it was better to be prepared. Mew might drop by to download new TV shows, and a philosophy book seemed fitting for Mewtwo's introspective nature.
As for people:
A shovel for James.An apron for Jessie.A headband for Roxanne.A hairpin for Flannery.A tie pin for Steven.A small dragon-shaped badge for Lance.A Clefairy plushie for Sabrina.An ice cream-shaped hair clip for Cynthia.
Finally, Johan paid for everything, packed the gifts into a large bag, and stuffed them into Gengar's mouth.
Traveling with Gengar was undeniably convenient.
The next morning, Johan woke up in his cabin.
For once, he hadn't been awakened by Gengar licking his face and had enjoyed a restful sleep.
"Hmm?"
As he pulled off his blanket, he noticed an extra one underneath—Dragonair's newly purchased blanket.
When he looked toward the end of the bed, he caught Dragonair peeking at him with one eye open before quickly shutting it and burying its face.
"Does Dragonair like blankets chilled by Vulpix's ice?"
Later, on the deck, Johan held Vulpix in his arms as they gazed at the approaching island.
Patting Vulpix's head, Johan smiled.
"Let's go enjoy the hot springs!"
"Oowu~~ (((//Д//)))"
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Powerstones?
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