Chapter 27: "Date"

It seemed that Tobias also noticed Dylan's gaze, so he turned his head to glance at Dylan.

Dylan smiled and nodded at him in a friendly manner. Tobias was stunned for a moment, then nodded back before heading toward the elevator.

In this world where travel is a popular trend, interactions between people are generally friendly. However, Tobias didn't seem very good at communicating with strangers.

Hmm, you could say he was a bit aloof.

"What's wrong, Dylan? Do you know that person?" Ilene asked curiously after seeing the interaction between Dylan and Tobias.

"No, I don't." Dylan shook his head.

"It's just that his outfit looked quite unique, so I was a bit interested."

Ilene: "..."

It seemed that Dylan was indeed socially awkward.

After getting their room keys from the front desk, the two of them decided to check out their rooms first.

However, to be honest, Dylan was still quite interested in Tobias.

In the anime, there were quite a few people who owned Legendary Pokémon, and Tobias was one of the classic ones, like Brandon.

But aside from the Lily of the Valley Conference, Tobias never appeared again, not even during the World Coronation Series in "Journeys."

This couldn't help but make people curious about Tobias's background.

To have captured Darkrai and Latios, either Tobias had a very powerful background, or he was incredibly lucky.

After all...

Tobias's strength was strong compared to ordinary people, but if you were to say he was truly powerful, that might not be the case.

How strong was Ash during the Sinnoh region? Obviously, not very strong, considering that his level was about the same as Paul's, and he was severely defeated by Flint, the Sinnoh Elite Four's Fire-type master.

In other words, Ash from the Sinnoh region definitely wasn't at the Elite Four level, not even close. Even if you used his old Pokémon, he still wouldn't reach that level. At most, he barely touched the threshold of the Elite Four, and that's only with his top-tier partners like Charizard and Sceptile.

But Ash still managed to defeat Tobias's Darkrai and Latios, which says something.

Moreover, being the winner of a regional tournament and being a Champion are two different things. Tobias won the Lily of the Valley Conference, which gave him the right to challenge the Elite Four and the regional Champion.

However, in the final challenge, it was Flint who challenged Cynthia, not Tobias.

In other words, Tobias either gave up the challenge, or he didn't even pass the Sinnoh Elite Four.

"He looks like he hasn't reached the age he was in the storyline. I wonder if he has Darkrai now?" Dylan was intrigued. The Tobias he just saw seemed younger than he was during the storyline, so it was unclear if he had already captured Darkrai, and why was he in Kanto?

But then again, the anime never explained where Tobias was from, so Dylan let it go.

After checking out their hotel rooms, the two of them, of course, stayed in separate rooms. After settling in for a while, Dylan and Ilene met up again and planned to explore Vermilion City.

"By the way, you two," as they reached the lobby, a hotel staff member approached them.

"Thank you for staying at our hotel. The S.S. Anne is currently docked at Vermilion Harbor and will be hosting a Trainer banquet tomorrow. If you're interested, you can check it out."

The hotel staff member smiled as they handed over two tickets.

"As a token of appreciation for our guests, these two S.S. Anne tickets are a gift from us."

"Is it the world-famous luxury cruise ship, the S.S. Anne?" Ilene covered her mouth in surprise, even she had heard of the S.S. Anne.

Because it is one of the most famous luxury cruise ships in the world.

"Yes." The staff member replied with a flawless service smile.

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"Your hotel is really generous, huh?" Ilene was surprised. This hotel was indeed one of the top hotels in Vermilion City, but the tickets for the S.S. Anne were very expensive.

Giving out tickets just for booking a room? Wouldn't this hotel go bankrupt?

"That's not the case; this is just a temporary promotion."

The staff member's smile was a bit awkward. How could that be? The tickets were actually given to them for free.

Who knows what kind of idea the S.S. Anne had, organizing this Trainer banquet and suddenly giving out free tickets.

And this hotel just happened to get a few, which was a way to serve their customers.

"Thank you." Ilene was still very interested.

"You're welcome. Please leave a good review for our hotel."

"We will."

Dylan and Ilene walked out of the hotel.

"This really is a pleasant surprise! Dylan, let's check it out tomorrow."

Ilene carefully put the tickets in her bag and suggested to Dylan.

Although as the Queen of Rota, she wasn't lacking in money, and while the tickets for the S.S. Anne were precious, they weren't something she couldn't afford.

But since the tickets were free, why not use them?

"Sure." Dylan smiled and nodded.

"Let's go check out the pedestrian street."

"Sounds good!"

Even a queen couldn't resist the natural love for shopping.

Dylan hailed a taxi, and the two of them headed to the city's most famous pedestrian street.

As Kanto's largest port city, Vermilion City's daily foot traffic was enormous, and the pedestrian street was no exception.

Most of the people were from out of town.

The two of them shopped for about two hours, and Ilene bought a bunch of trinkets and clothes, which they had delivered to the hotel because it would be hard to walk around with all of it.

"This ice cream is really good."

After getting a bit tired, Dylan and Ilene bought two ice creams and ate them as they walked, and Ilene seemed to really enjoy it.

"Speaking of ice cream, I've heard that the ice cream from Castelia City in Unova is the most delicious." Dylan mused.

"I've heard that too. Dylan, take me there sometime."

Ilene's eyes lit up, looking at Dylan expectantly.

"Alright." Dylan agreed with a smile.

Ilene's big eyes curved into a sweet smile, a completely different look from her usual elegant and noble demeanor.

But just then—

Bang!

A young girl bumped into Dylan, almost stumbling.

"Sorry, sorry, I was texting my friend and didn't notice. Are you okay, mister?" The girl apologized quickly, looking flustered and uneasy.

Looking at his spilled ice cream, Dylan felt a bit helpless.

"It's fine. Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"

Dylan didn't blame the girl and gave her a quick once-over.

She was an ordinary girl, wearing a white top and a plaid skirt, with long brown hair and a slightly chubby face.

"I'm fine. I'm really sorry."

The girl rubbed her right arm, which hurt a bit from the collision, but it wasn't a big deal.

"Just be careful next time. This is a busy street, so you should watch where you're going," Ilene said gently to the girl.

Although the girl had bumped into Dylan, she had apologized, and it wasn't intentional.

"Thank you, sister. I'll remember that." The girl responded obediently.

"Brother, sister, can I go now? My friend is waiting for me."

The polite girl pursed her lips, looking a bit anxious but still seeking their permission to leave.

She was very well-mannered.

Ilene didn't make the decision for Dylan since he was the one who had been bumped into.

Dylan looked at the girl with interest.

"You can go."

"Thank you so much, mister! I'm really sorry about today."

The girl quickly thanked Dylan and grabbed her bag, ready to leave.

But just as she was about to walk past Dylan, a hand grabbed her arm.

"Mister?"

The girl's expression changed slightly, and she turned to look at Dylan in confusion.

"Mister, is there something else? Could you please let go of me? It hurts, sister?"

The girl looked worried and a bit scared, speaking softly. Seeing that Dylan didn't budge and just smiled at her, she turned her tearful eyes to Ilene.

Ilene was puzzled but trusted Dylan and didn't say anything.

The girl's eyes shifted again. This...

"Don't you have something you want to say?" Dylan's half-smile made the girl a bit anxious.

"Mister, it's not appropriate to grab a weak girl's arm in broad daylight, is it?"

Finally, the girl's tone changed, with a subtle hint of threat, clearly warning Dylan.

"I could accuse you of being a pervert!"

The girl lowered her voice, obviously not wanting to make a scene.

"Those aren't the words of a weak girl." Dylan shrugged.

"Besides, I could accuse you of stealing. My wallet is with you, isn't it?"

The girl's pupils dilated slightly.

"I'm not! I didn't! How can you falsely accuse an innocent girl!"

(End of the Chapter)