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C hapter V
Several more years passed since Glasorden bought his Gym. He hired on some Junior Trainers, who saw him as a demanding Gym Leader. Glasorden received many challenges and few losses. But as time went on, Farlig Town seemed more distant. He wondered whether he would ever see it again.
One day, Glasorden received a letter from a wayward Staraptor. He removed the envelope from the Staraptor's talons carefully and opened it. It said:
Dear Glasorden,
You have been invited to a Gym Leader meeting in beautiful Altinea City. There will be a feast and games. You won't want to miss it. You are allowed to invite one other person. A ship should be ready for you at the time and date provided on your invitation card.
Best regards,
-Jayne Reynolds, Pokémon League Secretary
There was a postcard, which had a beautiful picture of a beach where the waves appeared to be gently lapping the shore. Some Swimmers appeared to be having fun in the water while Tubers hung out on the beach.
Glasorden went to tell Peter. Peter said, "There ain't nothing you can't do in my eyes!"
"Only you, buddy!" Roger exclaimed, and the four men clanged their mugs together. Glasorden noticed that one of them had the mug that he signed for Peter.
Glasorden knew who he wanted to invite. He sent an invitation to Julia back in Farlig Town (he wasn't so sure that he wanted to invite Peter). Writing to Julia brought back fond memories. He didn't expect an affirmative answer, so he was surprised when Julia rode to Glacierbay City on a Pidgeotto a few days later. They exchanged a hearty hug.
Raul was passing by. "Hey, I never met your wife before!"
"We're just good friends from years back," Glasorden said. "She helped teach me about Pokémon." Julia blushed.
They got ready for the big departure. When the boat came, Glasorden was impressed. He never saw any ship so magnificent before in his life! They climbed aboard. Glasorden showed the man his Trainer Card as proof of identification and explained that Julia was his invitee. He was directed to his cabin in the first-class area of the ship while Julia was led to the cabins for the people who paid standard fare.
Soon afterwards, Glasorden and Julia went out on the deck to take in the view and the salty sea breeze. After a while of this, Julia noticed that it was almost time for dinner. "We need to get to the dining area!" she told Glasorden.
They walked to a large cabin with neatly arranged seats and a stage that looked like it was set aside for performances. The two of them sat at a small table where there were two empty seats. As the dining hall became crowded and people around the cabin began telling each other stories and laughing heartily, Glasorden and Julia talked about what happened to themselves during the time period after Glasorden left for adventure. He told Julia how he obtained Lapras.
"There is something to be said about that Trainer," Julia replied.
Glasorden went on to tell Julia about finding Magnemite and what happened to him in Peter's tavern.
"No one was hurt, were they?" Julia said.
"No, we just battled," Glasorden said. "A few days later, we worked out our disagreements. I also became a Gym Leader."
"No way!" Julia said.
"I got it from this old man who runs a mining operation under the city. We had some friendly competition afterwards."
"Things are pretty quiet back at home. I'm thinking about becoming a novelist."
"Pokémon are such fascinating creatures. You could write a book about Pokémon."
"Yes, Pokémon will play a major role in my works. This is good spaghetti," she said as she started digging into the main course that was just brought to their table. "Mom never made this at home."
As people were eating, the curtain on the stage began to slide open. The show was the teen sensation Pi! Pi! Pikachu! performing their hit single "You Burn My Heart like Charizard."
"Do you think that I will ever find a girl?" Glasorden asked Julia over the music.
"Of course you will, you charmer," Julia replied.
The band sang a few more songs to finish up the dining hour. As people finished their meals, Glasorden led Julia to his cabin, where they chatted a little bit. After that, he took her to the cabin on the ship that was set aside for training Pokémon and had his team demonstrate some moves. Julia was impressed as the whole cabin turned to ice as a result of the Aurora Beams and Ice Beams. Fortunately, it was all done virtually-whenever the next Trainer came in, the cabin was bare and ready to be used again.
Glasorden bade good night to Julia and went to his cabin again, where he thought some more and talked to his Pokémon before calling it a night.
It wasn't too long before a siren woke Glasorden up with a start. He hurriedly prepared his things and jostled through the panicking crowd as a storm caused the ship to take in too much water. Eventually, he made it to the life boat station, where he looked for Julia. She was terrified as the ship tossed and turned in the crashing waves. They both noticed that each life boat was only big enough for two people. They climbed into an empty boat. Glasorden noticed a Sailor standing near the life boats.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked the Sailor over the thunder and surging waves.
"No, sir!" the Sailor said. "She was a fine vessel, and I'm proud to go down with her!"
The Sailor gave a salute as Glasorden and Julia hurriedly loosened the knots that bound the life boat to the ship. They were sailing away from the huge vessel as it capsized in the water. The waves were rough and choppy, and the life boat was getting pushed from all sides.
A wave knocked Julia clean out of the boat. She was dragged away by the undertow and eventually forced underwater. There was nothing that Glasorden could do except watch the raging sea take her life.
Glasorden never saw Julia again.
Chapter VI
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