Pokemon Heroes: Sinnoh Saga [Book 1]

Chapter 67: The Watery Path of 218

"The inability to compete in the Grand Festival was weighing heavy on Lyss's mind as we travelled back to Jubilife City. I tried speaking with her about it, but it was nothing compared to the advice Niya could give. Niya had actually competed in and won the Sinnoh Grand Festival a few years back. She also had the Wallace Cup under her belt—that was the epitome of Pokémon Coordinating apparently, I still don't pretend to understand it. Niya was able to explain to Alyssandra that she had made the correct, and even mature, decision. If she didn't have the confidence, it was better to redouble her training efforts, get some more experience with contests rather than let the Grand Festival get to her head for the rest of her life."

The boat hummed gently, then slowly rattled to a stop.

It was a decently sized boat, with a small cabin beneath the deck where the four teens could sleep in the evenings. By boat it was only a two-day trip to Canalave City, however, that now turned into three as the group took their time to catch some Pokémon, fill in their Pokédex, do some fishing, and take in the sights of Cape Canalave.

A small U-shaped curve of land made of sheer cliff face, and tiny white sand beaches, along the edge of the coast, which faced a small cape that bled out into the ocean.

The water sparkled like sapphire under the sky, and there were Wingull and Pelleper squawking in the air above.

Alyssandra and Sam had taken the time to fish, while Niya tossed the anchor into the water below, and ensured it was properly secured.

Jeremy sunbathed on the bow of the boat along with Pikachu.

Everyone was wearing his or her bathing suits, bikinis and swim shorts, as the basked on the boat.

Niya soon lay down her towel, lathered her pale skin in sunscreen, placed her glasses on her face, and went to sleep beneath the bright, midday sun.

"You used to fish all the time with your grandfather, didn't you?" asked Alyssandra as she sat there, blowing her hair out of her face. Her hair had been done up in a high bun, but her bangs hung down the side of her face.

"All the time!" roared Aurelio, leaning against the railing of the boat, "He was pretty good too—taught him everything he knows!"

Sam rolled his eyes. "He and I used to go out, early in the morning to Lake Verity and we'd fish often, yeah," replied Sam, "I used to catch more than him."

"Twice!" Aurelio protested.

"Yeah, a week," muttered Sam under his breath, smiling to himself.

Alyssandra didn't' seem to notice, but if she did Sam didn't care as much. She knew his secret, and that his grandfather's ghost hung around him, she just couldn't hear him.

"Not a lot happens, huh?" asked Alyssandra.

"Not always, no," admitted Sam, "More often than not you don't catch anything. But sometimes you get lucky. What are you trying to catch?"

"Anything, Pokémon though for sure," replied Alyssandra checking her Pokétch for the time, "Just some things to fill out my Pokédex, and give me an extra Pokémon I could potentially sub-in during Contests. A Finneon would be nice, because Lumineon are beautiful, and would well during a Contest Appeal."

"How are you feeling about that, by the way?" asked Sam, trying to see where Alyssandra was at with coming to terms with her recent development in Celestic. Due to the Team Galactic takeover, the Pokémon Contest in the town was cancelled. Nilama and a few other elders were supposed to be the judges, along with the local Nurse Joy—Mama Lama even offered Alyssandra the ribbon she had for helping Celestic Town, but Alyssandra refused to take it on the grounds of her own honour and decency.