As the luxury cruiser S.S. Anne drew ever closer to the Johto region, it was scheduled to dock at the nearest island by dawn for a routine supply run. But for Logan, this was the perfect window to carry out a different mission—one that involved clearing out the Team Rocket agents hidden onboard and rescuing the Pokémon they had captured.

Logan didn't particularly care about rescuing the Pokémon or dealing with Rocket grunts. In truth, he'd only boarded the S.S. Anne to rest during his exhausting travels. But since he had promised Red, he wasn't about to go back on his word.

Footsteps echoed against the metal flooring of the deck as Logan walked beside an excited Red, who seemed completely unaware that their presence had long since been detected. Either Red genuinely didn't realize it, or he was just too laid-back to care. Even now, Red's easygoing nature hadn't changed, even if this world's version of him was vastly different from the animated one Logan once knew.

Trailing behind them was Caitlin, clad once again in her signature pink dress. But unlike her initial, excited demeanor when she first boarded, today her expression was hazy and distant—like a slumbering princess who hadn't yet woken up.

"What's wrong, Caitlin?" Logan furrowed his brows and leaned in closer to ask gently.

"Ah? N-nothing, I was just lost in thought…" she responded, startled by his proximity.

"Stay sharp. We could be in danger at any moment. This isn't the time to be spacing out."

"S-sorry. I'll be careful," Caitlin lowered her head in embarrassment.

Still, the way her gaze drifted blankly gave Logan cause for concern. He sighed—this young lady was clearly distracted.

He remained close to her, ready to shield her at the first sign of trouble.

In the past couple of days, Caitlin had been practically glued to Logan's side. As she admitted herself, she had nothing to do all day and stuck to him like a shadow. She even insisted on sleeping next to him—even on the same bed.

Fortunately, though she was bold, Caitlin still retained some modesty. At the very least, she hadn't gone as far as to climb under the covers with him completely unclothed.

Because if she had done that, Logan was certain he wouldn't be able to hold back—and then this well-bred young lady would learn firsthand what it meant to cry out from the pain of her first time.

He feared that might only deepen her attachment to him, giving her even more reason to cling to him wherever he went. Logan wasn't ready to carry that kind of burden. Not yet.

Still, having such an elegant beauty sharing a bed with him stirred undeniable temptation. With a bit of coaxing, he'd already convinced her to use her hands to learn about the male anatomy. Watching her innocent, curious, yet bashful expressions as her smooth hands explored him… Logan had to admit, these past few days had been quite blissful.

After all, only a fool would pass up a golden opportunity like that.

Red led the way while Logan and Caitlin followed behind. But the young lady was clearly not in high spirits.

She should have been ecstatic—she was finally learning to control her psychic powers and had joined a real-life adventure for the first time. But instead of doubling her happiness, these milestones only seemed to weigh her down emotionally.

For a long time, Caitlin's emotions had been intertwined with her psychic abilities to such a degree that perfect control was theoretically impossible. Her condition had long been locked in a self-defeating paradox.

But then came Logan.

With Logan's help, most of her volatile power had been temporarily sealed, allowing her to untangle the mental knots. He taught her how to manage her emotions and fine-tune her powers with precision. With the hardest part out of the way, all that remained for her to succeed was consistent training and time.

Caitlin knew this well—if she tried her best, in just a year or two, she could live like a normal person: interact with others, share a life with them.

Yet… deep inside, she didn't want that.

She found herself wanting to stay difficult, temperamental, unstable—because then, she'd have a reason to keep him by her side.

While she drifted in her thoughts, both Red and Logan suddenly froze in place. They sensed danger at the exact same moment. Caitlin, still in a daze, continued walking forward until Logan swiftly reached out and wrapped his arm around her slender waist.

"Watch out!!" Logan and Red shouted in unison.

Caitlin snapped back to awareness, but before she could move, both boys had already sprung into action.

"Pikachu!"

"Gabite!"

Their Pokémon burst forth at once. Just then, an overwhelming aura of death and pressure surged from above, and a flash of lightning like a spear cracked down from the sky, too fast to dodge.

A massive shadow loomed over them.

"Iron Tail!!"

"Block it!!"

With perfect synchronization, Red ordered Pikachu to strike the lightning with Iron Tail, while Logan, shielding Caitlin in his arms, commanded Gabite to adopt a defensive stance against the oncoming dark force.

CRACK!!

"Pika!!"

Blinding light filled the corridor as Pikachu's Iron Tail clashed with the incoming bolt. But caught off guard, Pikachu couldn't withstand the full force—he screamed as his tiny body was thrown violently into a steel wall, leaving a dent in the metal.

Thankfully, Pikachu's brave stand gave Red enough time to dodge, barely avoiding a lethal strike.

Meanwhile, the giant shadow collided with Gabite, crashing down like a meteor. The impact made Gabite's knees buckle, but the dragon held firm, digging into the steel stairs beneath it. Still, the staircase couldn't take the pressure—it collapsed with a shriek of metal as Gabite and Logan plummeted downward.

Steam hissed up from the machinery room below, the area sweltering with heat. Logan used his psychic abilities to steady himself mid-air and landed atop Gabite with Caitlin still in his arms.

For a dragon-type like Gabite, a bit of heat was nothing. It caught them firmly and leapt to a nearby platform, landing with a metallic thud.

Red's Pikachu also recovered and sprang to his side, ready to fight again.

Their attacker emerged—its bolt-shaped tail crackling with electricity, its cruel eyes gleaming with menace. It was none other than a Raichu.

And beside it, the massive, lightning-clad figure that had crashed down moments earlier stood to full height: an Electabuzz, snarling like an ancient beast.

"Raichu and Electabuzz!" Logan growled. That could only mean one thing…

As Caitlin finally caught her breath, a mocking laugh echoed from behind the Pokémon.

"Hahaha!! Still flirting at a time like this, little lady? Ah, the sweet fantasy of young girls really is charming! But maybe you should take a page from those two boys—you know, the ones with actual reflexes! I thought I could wipe all three of you out with one move!"

Striding out behind the Pokémon was a burly man in a floral shirt, a wild grin on his face.

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