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The S.S. Tidal (Japanese: タイドリップ号Tiderip) is a ferry from the Hoenn region. Its captain is Mr. Briney.
The S.S. Tidal transports players from one location to another. Its main voyage takes players from Lilycove City to Slateport City and vice versa, but other tickets allow other locations to be reached.
The tickets available vary depending on the game. Only the S.S. Ticket can be obtained in the game, which the player receives after entering the Hall of Fame. All other tickets can only be obtained from event distributions.
Like Johto's S.S. Aqua, there are many Trainers on board the ship that can be battled on the journey, but only once. Each of them can be found in their own cabin. The player also has a cabin; if the player sleeps in the bed in this room, the ship will arrive at its destination.
The hall is the main part of the S.S. Tidal. In Generation III, when the player first enters the ship, they start off near the entrance staircase, on the far south-western corner of the ship. There are eight cabins in the middle of the hall. On the north-eastern corner of the ship, there is a staircase down to the basement. There are portholes located on the northern side of the ship, which the player can look out them and see their current location, whether they are traveling against the currents of Route 133, or traveling over the seas to the Battle Tower. Mr. Briney and Peeko are also located on the northern hall, where they will welcome the player the ship.
In Generation VI, the cabins are instead spread along a corridor, with the entrance to the ship being in the north-eastern corner and the entrance to the basement in the south-eastern corner. Due to the new design of the ship, portholes are no longer a part of it. On the first ride of the ship, the player will see Drake talking with Mr. Briney and Peeko before heading to the deck. Drake will be there on subsequent voyages.
Cabins
In total, there are eight cabins holding the ship's passengers. Some of them will battle, and some will not. In one room there is a Bug Maniac who gives away TM49 (Snatch)RSE/TM63 (Embargo)ORAS if talked to. The player also has their own cabin. If the player sleeps in the bed in their room, the player's party Pokémon will be fully healed, and the ship will arrive at its destination.
Basement
On the north-eastern corner of the ship, there is a staircase down to the basement of the S.S. Tidal. Down in the basement are several of the ship's crewmen taking a break or training with their Pokémon. The basement contains giant cargo containers that are located around the room. Two sailors are roaming around the room, ready for a battle. The item Leftovers is hidden in one of the three trash cans located around the room.
In Generation VI, a Backpacker from Unova can also be found at the basement, giving the player a Sharp Beak if talked to. Leftovers is now lying on the floor, instead of being hidden in a trash can.
Trainers with a PokéNav by their names will be registered in the Trainer's Eyes or Match Call function after the first battle, and may have a rematch with the player with higher-level Pokémon.
Trainers with a PokéNav by their names will be registered in the Trainer's Eyes or Match Call function after the first battle, and may have a rematch with the player with higher-level Pokémon.
The SS Tidal sailing on Route 134 (Slateport to Lilycove)
If the player departs from Slateport City to Lilycove City, going to any porthole on the back wall and pressing A allows the player to see the ship sail through the currents on Route 134; if watched for the whole route, the captain will give the announcement that occurs halfway through the journey. The same can be done via Lilycove to Slateport, albeit only after the captain has announced that the ship is halfway to Slateport; if watched to the end, the ship will arrive in Slateport.
Even after the captain announces that the ship has arrived at Lilycove/Slateport City, it will still show the ship moving.
The Backpacker from Unova down in the basement has trouble speaking the regional language. This is a reference to the fact that Hoenn is one of the four regions based on Japan; the Backpacker hails from Unova, a region based on part of the United States of America, and would naturally have trouble with Hoenn's foreign language.