Something about Kanto always made him want to smoke. Maybe it was the air, or most likely it came back to bad habits again. Back when he still visited the region, Kakuji had no problem lighting up a cig, or a pack... or three while he went about his business. He was only allowing himself to carry one at a time now, and Kanto wasn't going to be the thing to break his clean streak.
Boss landed him in a park somewhat near the docks. It was probably the closest he could get without making a scene. At least Kanto was close enough to just fly; it had that going for it. A burst of air nearly messed up his hair again as the Fearow at the source of it dropped off the whole reason he was in this mess.
"Remind me why we're here again?" Kakuji said as he finally withdrew his tired Crobat. From the sound of it, Reiko was doing the same with her Fearow. "I swear I can smell Saffron City already."
"Rampaging Pokémon is what the Governor told us; PLA was a bit cagey with the details from what he said." The secretary said, beginning the short walk to the Vermillion Port. "Plus I can smell the salt, so I guarantee we are nowhere near Saffron right now."
Truth be told, Vermilion did seem different since the last time Kakuji had visited. Surge seemed to keep a good grip on things, personal opinions aside. He felt out of place among the tourist traps and glitzy stores that littered the area around the docks. He noticed a few of the fancy bars he once visited seemed brighter and less hollow, even if just a little.
But who knows, he barely had any sober memories of Vermilion anyways.
"Why go through the kid though? A rampaging Pokémon should be something a local champion can handle." The boat was in sight now, but the closer he got, the odder the request seemed. "She didn't seem incompetent. What's her name…? The Kanto Champion."
"Kagura," Reiko corrected. "It seemed urgent, and the Governor wasn't taking no for an answer. I could stop filtering these requests and let you decide what's important, if you'd prefer. I did seem to recall you being excited that you had your chance to 'show up Kanto' when I told you the news, though."
"I get it, I get it. Sorry."
Streets turned to piers as the city reached the limits of available land. The kitschy shops grew less and less frequent as the local bar clientele shifted from "wealthy tourist" to "dock worker". This was the Vermilion to which he was more accustomed; The dirt behind the glitz. He could probably duck into one right now and just drink until this request was a distant memory like everything else he did in this city. He probably wouldn't have to pay for a drink all night. People tended to be generous when a Champion showed up. Hell, he'd probably just have to introduce himself as Sho for some of these workers to start breaking open bottles.
"I had our things sent early, so they should be already in our room." Reiko's voice broke his chain of thought, causing Kakuji to realize they had finally made it to the boarding area. Even if he wanted to just go home, he couldn't do so now. There were likely a few PLA employees watching for the Champions to arrive, and he no doubt just walked past several of them. There was no escape, the work was going to pile up while he was away, he's probably lost the leads on the Slowpoke Tail case, and worst of all, he was stuck in Kanto for the foreseeable future.
"Any plans once we're on board?" Reiko asked.
"Finding the bar."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PLA had way too much money lying around. That's the only way to justify the fact that this boat had two different pools. Not that he was complaining; the pool was nice, and he didn't feel like he was about to walk in on an illegal gambling ring under the deck. Although, having a bunch of powerful trainers alone at sea and praying no one gets smashed and decided to defend their ego might be a little more worrying than gambling.
Oh well, they have to be doing something right if the boat is still here. With a view like this, he understood how some people were comfortable staying here for weeks at a time. The transparent hull of the VIP pool section gave a clear view of the sea, and the shallows were brimming with life. Instead of the Grimer and Muk he expected from an industrial city like Vermilion, the seafloor was alive with Krabby and Kingler migrating back to the surface, and disturbing a few territorial Seadra and their young Horsea. A rock in the distance looked oddly like a Cloyster, but he couldn't tell if it was actually moving or not.
He finished off his second glass of rum while debating the odds of a wild Cloyster being this close to the city. The VIP booze selection was far better than he expected, and he didn't even have to leave the hot tub to get a refill. None of the bartenders gave the cautious look he was used to about his tattoos either; or they were paid enough not to care. The light snoring next to him stopped for a second while the bartender swapped out Kakuji's drinks, but the warmth of the hot tub was enough to put the little Magby back to sleep.
"Are you sure it was a good idea to bring Akihito along?" Reiko asked from the pool. She took no time at all to get comfortable when they arrived. She in the pool and ordering a cocktail before Kakuji had even changed. I knew she was only in it for the vacation. "Might have been better to bring Ami or Toshiko."
"He needs more experience, and there's probably going to be all seven of us here. If a rampaging Pokémon can beat over forty Champion Pokémon, then I doubt me having my full six will help much." He took a swig from his new drink and decided the Cloyster-looking thing was probably just a really funny rock after all. He'd have to ask what brand this was. The rum felt like a Hoenn rum, but he couldn't shake an Alolan feeling either. "Besides, Ami doesn't like water and would probably blow a hole in the deck to get away from it. As for Toshiko, I lent her to Elm. He thinks he's onto something and needed an artificial Pokémon to test it."
"Really, Elm couldn't get a Porygon himself?" Reiko turned to face him, her expression a little sour for being kept out of the loop.
"You've seen the state of his lab." Kakuji liked the professor, he really did. However, the man could not secure funding if his life depended on it. "I practically had to force him to take her. The man probably couldn't afford both a Porygon and his only assistant with
his budget. He said I'm free to take her back at any time, too."
"Alright, so long as she's available if we need her." Reiko seemed abated for now. He really needed to remind himself to keep her in the loop when it came to his Pokémon. She nearly had his head when he lent Manzo out the day before the Ursaring was needed for a photoshoot. "You think we should leave yet? Between the flight and this pool, I think I'm going to fall asleep."
"Ehh, what's the worst that can happen?" He sank lower into the tub, letting his shoulders dip beneath the bubbling water's surface. "We checked in, so they know we're here. They'll send someone to find us before the meeting."