Pokémon Center – Evening
"Hey, big bro."
Paul stood before the communication device, looking at Reggie on the screen.
"How was your battle against Mr. Wake today?"
Reggie, drenched in sweat, asked while catching his breath.
"I've already got the badge." Paul replied, briefly showing his badge. Then, noticing Reggie panting and sweating, he asked, "Are you busy with something?"
"Yeah, a lot's been piling up lately. Everything's happening at once—I even have to work overtime."
On the screen, Reggie sighed.
"If that's the case, I won't bother you for long. Let's just swap Pokémon."
"Alright, send them over now."
Paul placed the Poké Balls of his Grotle, Skorupi, Gabite, and Ursaring into the transfer machine and sent them to Reggie. In return, he received a Poké Ball containing Vulpix.
"You're sending back so many at once?"
Reggie, now holding four Poké Balls, was momentarily taken aback. Wasn't this a bit too much? Keeping only three Pokémon on hand?
"I'm taking a boat to Canalave City soon, and training on board would be inconvenient, so I'm letting them return for training first." Paul explained briefly, pocketing Vulpix's Poké Ball.
"No problem. I'll take care of them… I still have work to do, so I'll hang up for now. Talk later."
Just as Reggie finished speaking, a voice called out from outside, causing him to chuckle helplessly. As he ended the call, a faint voice could still be heard through the communicator—
"Mm, make sure to get some rest."
"I will. You too."
As the screen darkened, Reggie smiled, composed himself, and left home with the four Poké Balls, heading back to his busy work schedule.
Meanwhile, Paul returned to his room to rest, preparing to head to the port early the next morning for his trip to Canalave City.
The Next Morning – Boarding the Cruise
The next day, Paul boarded a special multi-region cruise ship.
The vessel was quite large, equipped with an activity hall, a swimming pool, and a commercial street.
It didn't stay in port for long—less than an hour after Paul boarded, it set sail.
The ship's size allowed for a proper battle arena for trainers to spar, but moves like Dig Earthquake, and Fissure were strictly prohibited.
After boarding, Paul briefly checked out the battle area. However, since it was still early, only a few weak trainers were pecking at each other on the field. Uninterested, he turned away and headed toward the commercial street.
The cruise's commercial street was a unique feature, usually only found on large or luxury liners.
The street wasn't long, with only a handful of shops—clothing stores, item shops, Pokémon accessory boutiques, and specialty product stalls from various regions.
Ignoring most of the shops, Paul walked straight into the item store to see what was available.
The moment he stepped in, Paul immediately noticed some familiar items—Power Items he had bought in Veilstone City and the Forced Training Device he already owned.
"Welcome! Feel free to browse." The shopkeeper greeted while organizing the shelves.
Paul nodded slightly and walked deeper into the shop.
His eyes first landed on Electric Ball, Lucky Punch, Stick, Thick Club, and other powerful enhancement items. But since he didn't have any Pokémon that could use them, he skipped over them.
Moving further in, he found type-boosting items—Miracle Seed, Magnet, Spell Tag, Black Glasses, and various incense items. However, Paul wasn't interested, as he had already been actively collecting such items.
He even had an entire box of Miracle Seeds. How could he be lacking common items like Charcoal, Magnet, or Black Glasses?
Not to mention, he still had a high-quality Dragon Fang stored in his item room back home.
He kept browsing until he spotted a special teardrop-shaped gemstone pendant—Mystic Water, an item that enhances Water-type moves.
Unlike Miracle Seeds, Dragon Fangs, or Spell Tags, Mystic Water was rarer.
Paul didn't particularly need it, but he didn't mind collecting it.
Continuing his search, he found more battle-affecting items—Smooth Rock, Soft Sand, Light Clay, as well as the Choice series—Choice Specs, Choice Scarf, and Choice Band.
He already had these too. Unlike leftovers which had continuous effects, the Choice items weren't very practical. In games, they could be incredibly powerful, but in real battles? They limited a Pokémon's flexibility, making them unviable.
Eventually, at the very back of the shop, Paul finally found two items that caught his interest—a unique gemstone pendant and an intricate protective gear.
These two items were called:
Clear Amulet – Prevents the user's stats from being lowered.
Ability Shield– Prevents the user's Ability from being changed.
The former, in particular, was extremely useful to Paul. It would significantly benefit his Pokémon's battle strategies:
Grotle's Infinite Growth
Electabuzz's Motivational Combat
Skorupi's Hone Claws & Pinpoint Tactics
All these strategies relied on continuous stat boosts.
With the Clear Amulet, they wouldn't have to worry about their stats being lowered. This meant that in a battle, once their power increased, they would be nearly unbeatable against opponents of the same level—and might even dominate those of higher levels.
"Excuse me, do you have more of these?" Paul asked the shopkeeper.
"Sorry, these are the only two we have. We got them by chance." The shopkeeper replied apologetically.
"Then I'll take them."
After purchasing the three items, Paul left the store.
Returning to the deck, Paul released the three Pokémon he brought along.
"Buzzz~"
"Cha-cha~"
"Vul~"
All three Pokémon appeared in excellent condition.
"The weather's nice. Today's training will be swimming."
Glancing at the sky and the speeding ship, Paul made the decision.
"Cha~"
"Buzz~"
Electabuzz and Dewott had no issue with swimming. But Vulpix? That was another story.
"Vul… (T-T)"
One look at the nearby pool, and Vulpix instantly shrank back in fear. It wasn't that it couldn't swim—it just hated water as a Fire-type.
"Your task today is simple—overcome your fear of water."
Without hesitation, Paul grabbed Vulpix and tossed it straight into the pool.
"Vul!"
SPLASH!
Vulpix landed in the water, drenched.
It instinctively used Extrasensory to float—but when it look at Paul's unwavering gaze, Vulpix reluctantly sank back down.
"Buzz~Buzz"
Watching this, Electabuzz couldn't help but laugh.
"This Vulpix is so lame."
"What are you still standing around for? Get in the water and start swimming!"
Turning around, Paul pointed toward the endless expanse of the ocean beyond the cruise ship.
"Buzz?"
"Cha-cha?"
Both Pokémon froze at the command, glancing at the fast-moving cruise ship before looking back at Paul, confirming that he wasn't joking.
So swimming... and swimming are two different things, huh?
They had actually thought today would be a relaxing day off!
"While swimming, Electabuzz, you can use Motivate and Magnet Rise to accelerate."
"As for Dewott, focus on feeling the rhythm of the waves and currents. Train your Aqua Jet and Aqua Cutter. You can also attempt to learn Surf and apply its principles to enhance your Aqua Jet."
"Today's training will focus on your endurance, speed, and control."
After finishing his explanation, Paul coldly ordered: "Get in the water. Now."
"Cha-cha~"
Dewott, always diligent and never one to resist training, said nothing. It simply leaped into the sea and began its drills.
Electabuzz, on the other hand, shot Paul a resentful glance before reluctantly diving in. It immediately started working on improving its speed, stamina, and control.
Since Paul hadn't specified when they could stop, neither Pokémon wasted energy recklessly.
Instead, they focused on conserving stamina while maintaining high speed, adjusting their pace to match that of the cruise ship.
With both Pokémon settling into their training, Paul made his way to the poolside.
He had one more task—keeping an eye on a certain fox who was terrified of water.
Today, that fox was going to soak, swim, and even dive—properly.
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