The S.S. Anne
The S.S. Anne was the most popular spot for a party. Wealthy people would spend insane amounts of cash to get a ticket to one of them. These events were the talk of socialites in every region - Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Orre...
The accommodations were as luxurious as the most renowned five-star hotels. The S.S. Anne was utterly, indisputably perfect, down to the most menail detail.
Red couldn't wait to get onboard.
He checked his ticket one more time, a grin on his face. Being the Pokemon League Champion brought many rewards, but this might have been one of the best. Normally, Red wouldn't have been able to afford one of the tickets on the S.S. Anne. Champion he was; money-savvy he was not. Thankfully, his ticket had been sent to him for free. Along with a letter, printed on stiff, formal paper.
the flowing script had read:We are pleased to present this free ticket to the S.S. Anne's exclusive Tenth Anniversary Celebration. We hope that, as the Pokemon League Champion, you will grace us with your presence on the 17th of this month. You will be situated in Room #34.
Sincerely, Your Friends at the S.S. Anne
Scanning the letter again, Red wondered what it would be like to go to such a party. When he'd gotten the letter he'd been overjoyed. He liked luxury just as much as anyone, and it would be a great vacation from his normal routine of battling.
If only his friends could be here with him.
The S.S. Anne was about to depart. There was only one hour until the ship would sail off for its anticipated two-week cruise.
Blue had done this sort of thing before. He'd been on cruises with his parents, after all. But this was the first time he was traveling alone. Certainly, at sixteen, he was old enough to do so.
Well, he was almost alone. Professor Oak, thinking that such an outing with his grandson would be rather enjoyable, had managed to snag a high-priced ticket. They would be in different rooms, but it could hardly be considered traveling alone when your grandfather would be breathing down your neck the whole time.
Blue, recalling how much his grandfather had paid, was thankful his own ticket had been free. After all, there were many other (more practical) things he could spend his money on. To be quite honest, he thought it was (as the saying went) too good to be true. It was a suspicious setup. The S.S. Anne did give out free tickets from time to time, but usually not to teenagers. Usually to distinguished, rich adults. But, Blue reasoned, it's possible that there simply aren't very many teenaged gym leaders. Blue was lost in thought when someone bumped into him – hard.
"'Scuse me!" chirped a familiar voice.
Blue glared but immediately softened - and sighed with exasperation - when he saw who it was.
"Green!" he said, noticing that the girl was holding something behind her back.
Green smiled back, a bit sheepishly. "Oh, it's you." She handed back what she'd been hiding behind her back - his wallet.
"I thought you stopped stealing," Blue deadpanned. He was a little surprised she'd gone back to thievery.
"I did!" Green pouted, "But the endorsements only last so long. I don't have my own gym, and I'm not Champion!" she pulled a ticket from her pocket. "But I guess being third runner up in the pokemon league does have its benefits." She winked.
Blue grinned. "So that's what you're doing here. You got a free ticket, too." He looked around. "Then Red should be here. I mean, they wouldn't invite you if they weren't inviting Red," he sneered, thought it was obviously meant more as a tease than a jeer.
Green chose to ignore him, and instead looked through the crowd for Red. "There he is!" she exclaimed, running off to greet him. Blue was about to do so as well when he heard his grandfather.
"Blue! Blue!" Professor Oak shouted as he waved frantically,, trying to get Blue's attention.
He sighed again. Now everyone in the airport would know that the famed Professor Oak and his grandson, the Pokemon League runner-up and Viridian Gym leader, were boarding the S.S. Anne. Unlike Red, Blue wasn't particularly thrilled when hoards of children lined up around him, wide-eyed with admiration, to ask for his autograph.
Apparently, however, the S.S. Anne's passengers weren't amazed by fame – in fact, most of them were probably famous themselves. Blue was almost a little peeved their indifference but then shook it off, deciding that he'd become too egotistical.
Meanwhile, Red was surveying the ship. It was huge! Suddenly, he felt that someone was watching him. It was an eerie feeling. Though the sun was shining and crowds were chattering around him, he felt a shiver work its way down his spine. He could feel them getting closer… and closer…
He swung around, letting his Aerodactyl out of its ball for defense.
"Eee!"
His eyebrows, which had knotted in his focus, loosened. He laughed - it was only Green. Of course, everyone waiting to board the ship had seen the commotion and was staring at them.
"What are you doing here?" he asked pleasantly, running to close the distance between them. After the initial moment of surprise, he was now curious about her presence.
"I was invited to the party! I got a ticket for free! Did you? So did Blue, in fact, he's over there…" Green rambled on, but Red didn't really hear her. He still had the strange feeling that he was being watched.
a/n: Since I've been having some trouble with the latest chapter, I've decided to go back and edit everything (because, frankly, I feel like I've gotten a lot better and reading my old fics gives me shivers!) Don't worry, no major points will be edited. Just grammatical errors, wording, things like that to imporve the overall quality. Also, it's to catch any plotlines that I might forget to follow through on. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you'll review.
DISCLAIMER: (yes, I know it's odd that it comes at the end) Pokemon the game does not belong to me. Neither does the manga that this is based off of. I am writing fanfiction for fun, because I want to play with the material. I own nothing, and respect the people who originally thought up these ideas very much.