Journal of a Sylveon

Exploits in a Flooded Place

Our latest communion with a town nearby brought us to a place where the streets are literally entirely water. It was when things became too deep to pedal through when Milly hailed a passing boat, asking for a ride, at which the punter kindly obliged, helping Milly up after lifting her bike onto the boat. I was let out and I sat, watching the landscape crawl by as we floated through the street to the rhythmic sound of the punting pole gliding through the water. 

The houses were raised on some kind of stilt foundation, and the shops looked lively and colorful, and boasted many exotic novelties in the windows. I stared, mouth agape at the festive colors and neat curios. We would definitely have to go shopping when the battle was over. 

We stopped at a dock, and Milly tipped the punter generously as she got off. He tipped his hat, gave a smile and continued on his way. We not could navigate on the wooden sidewalks. Through the cracks and spaces between the wood, I could see water rippling. 

The gym was a magnificent place. Pink and white bricks were set artistically, making up an architectural curiosity of a building. 

If the exterior was breathtaking, the indoors were stunningly exotic and foreign. Potted plants were set evenly throughout the room, accenting the mood set by the arching doorways and luscious carpeting. The stained glass windows and mirrors on the walls made the place look like a palace. 

The arena, though clearly less lavishly decorated, utilized the local features, and cleverly used geometric figures and patterns to convey a modular theme, a sharp contrast from the traditional decor the other rooms exhibited. But it was really a treat to see.

This gym leader was obviously a water type trainer, with considerable prowess, we had been told. But we had no reason to be particularly put back, since no fire types were in Milly's arsenal of allies. 

It was really neat to battle there. The trainer was big on style, and played music during the battle, the geometric accents lighting up and pulsing to the beat. But I could do style too. I danced gracefully around the attacks, and made my own with rarely displayed flair comparable to that of a graceful martial artist. However, I didn't last the whole battle, and was eventually brought down. 

We won this battle as well, the little Buizel making a great debut in his attack repertoire. It would have been nice to see. Oh well, no matter. Dewmaru didn't see it either, so I have no room to complain. 

But more memorable the the battle was shopping at the local tourist traps. I have to say, Milly can be pretty diplomatic when she sets her mind to it. She would pay nothing above retail price, and likely out of fear of the loss of business, the vendors reluctantly obliged her ruthless haggling. After we visited the shops, we settled for a refreshing ice. It was some kind of berry syrup drizzled over ground ice, like snow cones, only think way high class. They were really good. 

The rest of the time was spent perusing the local attractions and performances. There were big cathedral-type buildings every now and then, trying to outdo each other in soaring architecture and elaborate furnishings. One had several spires pointing upwards to the sky, another used arches to reach astonishing heights. One other exercised the use of stained glass to achieve a magnificent effect. That night, we watched a few street performances. They were quite incredible, the things they were able to do. There was a fire breather who spat flames high in the air from his mouth, a juggler who caught a spinning knife in his mouth, and a balancing act that involved a trainer and several of his pokemon standing on in a tower atop a ball. It was great to watch. 

We stayed up way late to catch all we could, and everybody else dozed off watching a light fountain. Patterns of lights flash through columns of water. It's neat. But I should probably get to sleep as well. I'll already have a headache from staying up this late. 

Good night!

-Takao