Morning sunlight edged Vermilion City's harbor in gold.
Waves lapped gently against the pier, rising and falling in a steady, soothing rhythm.
The massive cruise ship S.S. Anne lay moored at the dock, her horn letting out a low, lingering bellow that promised the start of a new journey.
Satoshi exhaled softly.
"After playing around this long, we're finally leaving."
These past few days in Vermilion had… honestly been kind of insane.
Giant Dragonite.
Giant Tentacruel.
And even a close-up encounter with the god of order—Zygarde's Cell Forme.
Legends were supposed to be distant.
Yet when you actually ran into them, they felt uncomfortably close.
The only pity was…
Even with seeing Zygarde's Cell up close, the [System] still didn't count it as meeting a full-fledged [God].
It reminded him of the time he'd glimpsed [Ho-Oh] from far away.
Looked like the standard was: close contact with the true body only.
Misty muttered under her breath, arms crossed.
"Our journey still has to go on… honestly, how long do I have to babysit you?"
She said it like she was complaining.
But she had no intention of leaving.
She'd already decided to keep traveling with Satoshi.
Why?
Because she wanted to see with her own eyes just how far he could go.
Yes…
I want to witness his future.
Misty remembered something Satoshi had said to her before, and her face quietly flushed.
Brock answered seriously, as if he were giving a report.
"Probably a full loop around Kanto, right?"
"Now that we're on the road, we've gotta at least stick with him to the Indigo Plateau."
Memories were memories.
But it was still time to move on.
Satoshi, Misty, and Brock stood at the bottom of the gangway, about to say goodbye to a city that had survived storms and was finally settling back into calm.
A loud, familiar voice boomed from behind them.
"Yo! Brats, you're just gonna sneak off like that?"
The three of them turned, and there was Lt. Surge's unmistakable hulking frame striding over, golden hair so bright in the morning sun it was almost dazzling.
He wasn't wearing his usual camo vest today.
Instead, he'd thrown on a loud shirt with a snarling Raichu printed across the front—looking extremely… casual.
And maybe just a little bit ridiculous.
How to put it?
Surge usually gave off such a… uh… intense image that this outfit clashed hard with his usual "walking tank" aesthetic.
"Lt. Surge!" Satoshi blinked, surprised he'd come to see them off.
"Here to send off the brats who can both cause trouble and clean it up!" Surge barked a laugh.
He clapped Satoshi on the shoulder with his usual bone-rattling force. "So? Vermilion City exciting enough for ya?"
Brock chuckled.
"It was… definitely unforgettable."
Thinking back on everything that happened was enough to make his scalp tingle.
It was honestly lucky that giant Tentacruel hadn't opened with Surf or something equally catastrophic.
If it had driven a full tsunami straight into Vermilion…
That wouldn't have been a "crisis" anymore.
That would've been a tragedy.
Surge could beat the giant Tentacruel.
But there was no way he could have stopped a full-scale tidal wave. The area was just too large.
In fact, even if Surge + Professor Oak + Bill all went all-out together, they still wouldn't have been able to block an entire tsunami.
Attacking and defending were not the same level of difficulty.
Misty glanced uneasily toward the distant shore.
"I just hope, next time we come back… things will be calmer."
"Don't worry!" Surge crossed his arms, full of his usual confidence. "As long as I'm here, this place isn't going down!"
"Oh, right. Let me give you a tip on where to head next."
He raised his hand and pointed northeast, out across the sea.
"This season, with summer almost over, the Maidens' Cape is about to hit its busiest time of year."
"The harbor there's gonna host a big festival—huge summer fair, runs for days. I heard it's no small affair. Worth a look."
"If I wasn't tied down here, I'd go party myself."
He sighed a little as he recommended it.
"Festival?" Misty's eyes lit up instantly.
She had absolutely no resistance to that sort of thing.
"Yup. Food, games, goldfish scooping, masks, floating lanterns—everything." Surge paused, a sly grin tugging at his mouth.
"Perfect date spot for you little couples~"
With his eye for people, it was obvious Misty's attitude toward Satoshi had… some quirks.
Not that he planned to meddle.
He just found it nostalgic.
Ah, youth.
"But the festival's not actually what the Cape's famous for."
Surge lowered his voice a little, pretending to be mysterious.
"There's a two–thousand–year-old legend about a maiden there."
"Supposedly, during the festival, the ghost of an ancient girl waiting for her lover's return appears near the harbor."
"Well, that's the story, anyway. People talk it up like crazy."
He waved a hand and went back to his usual blunt tone.
"But there's nothing to be scared of."
"In our circles, everyone knows what it really is."
"That place is the territory of an 'old-timer'—a Ghost-type Pokémon Overlord."
"Probably been around too long and got bored. Every year during the festival it comes out to join the fun, disguises itself as some ancient maiden and pranks the tourists."
Satoshi reacted at once, his knowledge and memories from the anime snapping together.
"A Ghost-type Overlord can turn into a human?"
"Smart kid!" Surge snapped his fingers approvingly.
"It's a Haunter that's basically lived itself into a sage."
"Drags a big gang of Gastly, other Haunter, Gengar, the works—just to stir things up."
"In terms of personality, that guy's one of the nicest Overlords out there."
"Just has a soft spot for mischief. Loves using illusions to tease people, test their courage or get a read on their hearts."
"If you end up passing through, just play along with it."
"Call it a special local attraction, hah!"
Surge thumped Satoshi on the back again.
"Who knows?"
"If that old Gastly takes a shine to you, kid… it might even give you something nice."
"Pika pika!" Pikachu chimed in excitedly.
A friendly Overlord you could meet for free?
What a deal!
"Thank you, Lt. Surge. We'll definitely check it out," Satoshi said seriously.
This was just part of the journey—
But the intel was critical.
"Alright, ship's about to leave. Get on already!" Surge waved his big hand.
"Safe travels!"
"And have fun at Maidens' Cape!"
"If that old spook messes with you, just tell it Lt. Surge from Vermilion sent you."
"Ahaha, no idea if that actually helps, though!"
He didn't exactly think his name would have that much sway.
But hey—
Better than nothing.
Not that it mattered much.
That Overlord Haunter turned up at the Cape every summer without fail, and roamed around the rest of the year anyway.
Its relationship with the League was actually pretty cozy.
It almost never caused real trouble.
"Oh, right. Lt. Surge," Satoshi suddenly stopped just before stepping onto the gangway.
"Hm?" Surge blinked.
"That day… you looked really cool."
"If you added a cape on top of the vest, it'd be even more 'top-tier badass'."
Satoshi thought of the classic vest + cape look of true powerhouses.
It really did suit a brick-wall macho type like Surge.
"Huh?"
Surge pictured it in his mind.
Him standing on Magnezone's back…
Cape billowing behind him…
It did sound kind of awesome.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized—
Lance also liked swishing his cape around for dramatic effect.
And that made him think of someone else:
Leon from Galar, who basically lived in his sponsored cape.
The moment that walking billboard of logos popped into his head—
Surge shivered.
Yeah, no.
He'd pass on that.
He was a Gym Leader.
He didn't need that much money.
"…Maybe I should call Lance and ask where he gets his capes?" Surge muttered to himself.
Between Leon and Lance…
Yeah, Lance was still cooler.
"What interesting little punks~~" Surge hummed under his breath, watching the three backs disappear up the gangway.
Saying goodbye to Vermilion's wild, larger-than-life Gym Leader—
Satoshi and the others finally boarded the S.S. Anne.
Unlike the anime, the ship did not sink this time.
Truly a blessing.
Also unlike the anime, Giovanni's mechanical theme park here hadn't been wrecked by Team Rocket's three idiots.
The horn blew again.
The massive ship slowly pulled away from the dock and slid toward the blue horizon.
Leaning against the rail, watching Vermilion City grow smaller in the distance, all three felt a little sentimental.
Brock watched the water.
"Never thought we'd go through so much in one stop," he said.
"Yeah. Giant Tentacruel, Zygarde… and Lt. Surge's battle." Satoshi's voice was full of longing.
"So that's how Gym Leader–level strength is used…"
"At least everything ended well." Misty held Horsea in her arms, clearly in a good mood.
"That jellyfish theme park idea was really great, Satoshi!"
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed with a happy squeak.
Sea breeze brushed past, cool and salty.
The ship cleaved white foam aside as it cut through the waves, Wingull circling and crying overhead.
"Maidens' Cape festival…" Misty was already daydreaming.
"Just hearing it sounds fun! And that two–thousand–year-old maiden legend…"
"Actually a prank-loving Overlord Haunter," Satoshi added with a grin.
"But yeah, it does sound worth a visit."
Brock was already pulling out a notebook.
"Mhm. A Ghost-type Overlord that can coexist peacefully with humans, and even becomes part of the local folklore…"
"That alone has plenty of research value."
"I remember my dad and the others mentioning it before."
"They said it's a really interesting place—and almost never dangerous."
He suddenly remembered something "fun," and started giggling like an idiot.
"So let's split up when we get there~"
"♡♡♡ Hehehehehehehe (^з^)"
Misty narrowed her eyes.
"What are you giggling about? Spill it."
"Nope~" Brock actually chose to be mysterious for once.
Satoshi raised both hands in surrender.
"Well, let's just enjoy ourselves."
"Don't forget, my Vermilion Pokémon Club membership gets us fifty percent off the whole trip~"
Misty's gaze turned suspicious.
"Speaking of that…"
"I'm starting to think you might be Lt. Surge's secret lovechild."
"Ten percent of the hotel's profit shares, seriously?"
"Alright, alright, it's not that big a deal," Brock waved it off.
Gym Leaders did things on vibes all the time.
It wasn't like any of them were hurting for cash.
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