As the two of us walk around the deck, our hands intertwined, no one seems to give us any more than a few appreciative glances. I swear I could feel each gaze as it caresses my nearly naked body, which causes an unquenchable fire within my core. I refuse to look down, but I could feel how wet I am getting.
Flannery gives my hand a sudden squeeze, prompting me to look over. It seems that during our short walk, her hoodie has slipped off her shoulders and now hangs at her elbows. In return, her perfect breasts are exposed to the world, and I can see that her nipples are as hard as can be. It seems that I'm not the only one enjoying the current situation.
I toss my spicy lover a wink and turn my attention back to what is going on. From what I can tell, this seems to be some sort of naked social event. The bulk of people seem to be just standing around and chatting while enjoying the view. Closer to the center of the area, along one side, there is some low thumping music going on. I don't recognize the tune, but it is rather catchy and makes me want to dance along.
I close my eyes slightly and let the music carry my body along with the music. I get lost in the melodic tones of the music, letting my enhanced senses focus on it rather than anything else around me. Moments later, I feel the comforting heat of my lover from my back as she joins me in dancing. It doesn't take long for me to get lost in the pleasant sensations of dancing with my lover to the beat of the music.
Sometime later, I feel a slight pulling on my hand as my lover pulls me out of the mass of dancing bodies. I'm not sure how long the two of us were dancing, but I can see the sheen of sweat on her body. I notice that as we were dancing, the hoodie has come fully unzipped and is no longer hiding anything, and with a quick look down at myself, I notice that my dress has ridden up rather far. I reach down to fix it, but a sharp tug from Flannery stops my movement as I look at her flushed face as she gives me a slight shake of her head. I bite my lower lip lightly, but go along with her for now. A few moments later, the two of us come to a stop near the bar where a number of people are getting drinks or mingling.
"Do you want anything to drink? All that dancing made me thirsty." Flannery asks me while fanning herself slightly. I notice how the tips of her hair look damp, just adding to her natural sexiness.
"Love, you are always thirsty," I tell her as I plant a light kiss on her lips. "Just some water or some berry juice. I'll let you pick."
"No complaints if you don't like it!" She teases back as she slips into the crowd around the bar. I know she wouldn't actually get me something I don't like… right?
I shake my head and smile at her retreating back. Without any sense of hurry, I take a moment to look around the area she left me in. There seems to be a number of small tables, most of them filled with other passengers, spread around this section of the deck. As I start to turn, I lace my fingers together and slowly lift my palms to the sky in a lazy cat-like stretch, a pleased sound escaping my lips as I feel my muscles tighten briefly before relaxing.
"Not just one spicy girl, but two?" Says a sultry voice from nearby, followed shortly by a cheesy wolf-whistle. "Aren't we lucky tonight, Rosse~"
My head snaps to the side as I register that someone was talking about me. Sitting just behind where I am standing are two older females who really seem to be enjoying the evening. One of the two ladies is wearing a blackish-blue witches' hat, but nothing else, as her full, perky breasts are on full display. The other lady isn't dressed in something quite so distracting, but she is wearing a leotard-like outfit that almost seems to be painted on. Though it's not the nudity or the fact that they are talking to me that throws me off, it is who they look like. Something about their white, almost silver hair and gemstone-like eyes bring echoes of a memory that was long forgotten.
"Enjoying the view, suga?" The one with the witch's hat asks suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts. I was apparently quiet for too long as I wrapped my head around what I was seeing.
"Ah, sorry!" I apologize with a slight bow as my cheeks get a little warm. "It's just that the two of you seemed familiar and I can't quite figure out why." I tilt my head to the side slightly as I try to think where I have seen these people before. My thoughts are interrupted when I suddenly feel something wet pressed against my cheek, causing me to look at the offending object.
I find that Flannery has returned with two rather colorful drinks in her hands, one of which is covered in condensation and the other noticeably missing a spot. I level an unimpressed glare her way before I grab the proffered drink. I bring the glass up to my lips and take a slow sip before letting out a pleased moan as the sweet taste of Figy juice with a hint of Roseli undertones gives the whole drink a deeper floral taste.
"I take it you like it?" My lover asks as she slides up next to me and kisses me on the cheek. I ignore the whistle from the witch hat lady as I give my flame-kissed girlfriend a kiss on the lips.
"It's perfect love, just what I needed."
"Awesome! The bartender told me that ice specialists like it." She gives me a sunny smile as she takes a sip of her yellow and red drink that I swear is letting off heat even though the condensation on the glass tells a different story. "So who are these two? I noticed you talking to them as I came back."
"Honestly, I have no clue. I was looking for a place to sit down, and she suddenly whistled at me." I answer her as a motion towards the naked witch.
"That's right, loves, we hadn't had the chance to get more than a sentence in before you returned. Come sit with us." She beckons us closer to her table.
I give Flannery a shrug and move towards the open seats. As we come up next to the table, I notice that the seats are a little higher than normal, or else the table is shorter than I realized, as it only comes up to our knees. I notice the witch has a smirk on her lips, but her gaze is hungry as she watches us sit down. "Now that you are settled, we can take our time getting to know each other. I'm Eira and this is Rosse."
"It's nice to meet you, Eira and Rosse. I'm Frost, and this is my wonderful girlfriend Flannery."
"Heya." Flannery waves as she takes another sip of her drink. It must be tasty as it is almost half gone already.
"So what brings the two of you aboard the Sexy Anne?" Rosse asks in a silky voice that sends an appreciative shiver down my spine.
"Sexy Anne?" I ask, "I thought the name of the ship was the S.S. Anne."
"Her official name is S.S. Anne, but any regular on her knows her as the Sexy Anne. It's the first place in Kanto where new trainers can really let loose." Eira answers as she slides her arms under her generous bust, which draws my eyes towards them and her knowing smirk.
"I can see what you mean by letting loose…" I remark as I make it obvious I am checking her out, causing my wonderful mate to pinch my thigh. "What do you mean by 'the first place'? What are the others?"
"This is the first circuit for ya?" Rosse asks, and when she sees us nod, she continues. "How many badges do the two of you have?"
"We just beat Surge yesterday! A friend of ours got tickets for the ship this morning, and now here we are." Flannery explains as she drops her head onto my shoulder and rubs her cheek against it slowly.
"Oh! Congratulations! Are either of you aware of what changes after your third badge? There is a reason why it is one of the hardest badges to earn."
"Changes? In what way do you mean? My research before I started my journey didn't mention any changes." I tell them with my brow slightly furrowed as I try to recall anything I might have read.
"Well, officially, not much changes after getting your third badge," Rosse admits, "the only things that change in an official capacity is that you are allowed to fly between cities, and along routes, on a flying Pokemon. The only other official change is that you are now able or required to assist the police force with capturing criminals, and you will not be charged with excessive self-defence from using a powerful move to defend yourself."
"The real fun is the unofficial changes." Eira smiles with a predatory grin as she pauses her words for a moment. "You can now head deeper into the routes where more dangerous Pokemon live. These Pokemon won't just attack your companions, but you as well. This can result in your clothes getting ruined from a stray attack or a lucky shot. In return, it is fairly common to see trainers missing clothing as they travel along the routes. The Jenny's don't have any issue with this as long as you fix yourself before entering a town. Luckily, you can normally find a clothing store or Poke Mart along the official route that carries basic clothing."
"That sounds like it can get expensive," I remark as I think about how much it would cost me to replace my clothes.
"It's just part of the risk," she says with a shrug, "the next big thing that changes is battles between trainers. Other trainers see getting past the third badge as a rite of passage, so they are more likely to approach you if they see you. More than likely, they will ask you to battle, which is great practice, but they will likely convince you to place a bet. These bets can be anything from money to material items, to services rendered." Eira winks at us as she alludes to her meaning of services, "the only thing that can't be bet is your Pokemon."
"Well, not in most cases…" Rosse speaks up just as Eira's voice slips away. "The only time you can truly bet a Pokemon is if they are freshly caught and another trainer happens to see it. This can happen on occasion when trainers are trying to find a certain Pokemon for their team, but said Pokemon are rare or hard to find. A good example of this would be the search for a Dreepy or Dratini. Both Pokemon are highly sought after but are extremely hard to find in the wild. So if one trainer happens to catch it and someone else is nearby, they can battle you for the newly captured Pokemon."
"Huh… that is interesting, but how enforceable are those rules? What would stop the challenged trainer from just ignoring them and walking away?" Flannery asks after a few seconds. "I mean, if you went through all the trouble of finding and catching a Pokemon, shouldn't it be yours?"
"Nothing really prevents you from turning down a trainer battle besides reputation. For high-level trainers, their reputation within the community is just as important as their skills as a trainer. A trainer with a bad reputation will find it harder to progress as fewer people would want to train with them, and they are likely to find more aggressive wild Pokemon. On the flip side, someone with a great reputation will find all sorts of support available to them, and they are more likely to find young Pokemon or mild-tempered ones."
A sudden commotion coming from one of the entryways onto the deck has me pausing my next question. I catch mention of 'Champion' along with a sharp gasp, causing me to try to concentrate my hearing in that direction as I can't see anything from the mass of bodies around us.