Pokemon: A Statistical Oversight

~Selena~
Chapter One: Beyond the Blue

The rush of wind at the front of the ship causes long, light brown hair to whip furiously behind her. The powerful scent of salt water permeates the air, once a refreshing breeze to begin the final attempt at a journey, now a known and heavily experienced scent, though not unpleasant. A fresh start always began with the scent and sight of the deep blue ocean. Beyond the blue is where the future lies, and the city coming into sight further anchors her to reality.

The sight of Slateport city feels colorless, almost bleak with so much bright white walkways and gray brick buildings. Even the bright contrast of the ocean could not colorize the city enough. Past the blue lies another ocean of yellow, a bright sandy beach where the sun surely feels warm. The port is already in view and by the time the ship reaches the dock, she is already prepared to walk off, no thought or mind paid to her surroundings.

The instant she touched her feet down on the stone she knew she had to leave this place as soon as possible. The forest she sought to immerse herself in was not in sight, but only because Slateport happened to be quite large. She heard over the years this particular city grew only a little, not really becoming the main focus of growth as Mauville had, not to mention the huge project east of the city. Magnic Tower can be seen even from miles away, the tall tower piercing the heavens is quite the sight.

After adjusting the straps of her backpack, Selena headed straight into the slightly crowded streets. A Pokemon Center made itself noticeable just a few feet away from the docks, so she headed there. The bright red roof, at the very least, brought some color back into the city. The sliding doors opened to allow her in and she immediately noticed a small crowd of people in line at the Nurse's counter.

"I suppose I'll hang around for a bit," she mumbles under her breath, using this opportunity to sit down on one of the many round tables. This particular Pokemon Center may be running out of food and supplies very quickly, though the other centers might have sent over some supplies to deal with the influx of new trainers. It wouldn't surprise Selena to know Nurse Joy was fully prepared.


~Sahara~
Chapter One: Bubblegum Pink

"Woah, look at that!" The little bundle of joy whistles at the sight of the city, just now coming into view. Another ship had just docked, so now their ship waits for the other to get settled before it begins to dock. She had been hiding below deck for what seemed an eternity, but now that she gathered up the courage to surface, she really did not regret her choice of regions. Hoenn is an absolutely beautiful work of art. The sand glitters positively in the light of the sun, the crescent waves crashing onto the shore, sending surfer and Pokemon alike flying to shore. The sight of that alone excited her.

A few of the other passengers eyed her with slight suspicion, but the girl with bubblegum pink pigtail hair paid none of them any mind. A light-blue frog sat on her head, looking towards the beach that awaited them. "Frodo, look!" Sahara giggles, pointing towards the tower off in the distance. "That's Magnic Tower, where all the strongest are going to gather. One day you and I will be there too." The little Froakie joined her with an awestruck sigh.

Almost unable to contain her own excitement, the bubblegum girl reached towards the Pokemon and threw it up in the air, giggling madly as the little frog cheered when she caught it again. As soon as the ship docked, she and the Froakie dashed off the boat and broke out into a run. The weight of her backpack was not even a bother to her as she ran through the city, weaving through the crowd with expert precision, Frodo hot on her heels.

The sights, the sounds, the smells; it was all just so fantastic and new and refreshing, Sahara couldn't get enough of it all. The market nearby was absolutely filled with amazing foods and plants and other such things. When she reached the end of the market Sahara held out her arm for Frodo to hop onto. Together they took in a deep breath and exhaled. This was bound to be an adventure unlike any other. But where to even begin?

"Oh. My. Goodness!" a light yet masculine voice exclaimed – deep green eyes focused on the tower in the distance that seemed to cut itself out of the sea. "Mel! Mel! Look!" it continued excitedly, the boy it belonged to practically vibrating as he practically threw himself over the edge of the boat in a futile attempt to get a better look at Magnic Tower. It grew no larger in size but the thrill spiraling through his slender frame seemed to skyrocket until it stood three times as tall as the lofty structure. The boy's smile threatened to split his face in two. "Right there. That's what we're here for. That's where we're going to end up soon!"

The girl he had been directing his comments to joined him quietly at the railing. She smiled softly and nodded her head. The massive tower was quite a sight to behold. "You're getting a little ahead of yourself, Mer," she stated casually, her tone light but carrying a hint of realism. "We have a lot to do before either of us can get in there." Nevertheless, her own green eyes remained filled with a similar, albeit much more reserved awe. Magnic Tower would welcome them both one day – Melanie just knew it. When word of this challenge here in Hoenn had reached her, she had felt this burning in her heart to tackle it. The older twin knew her younger sibling felt it too. That's why they had come here, after all.

"We have to get registered for Hoenn's challenge, remember?" she asked aloud, feeling the younger boy's enthusiastic nodding coming before she even opened her mouth. She mentally chuckled. He had always been so excitable.

"Of course I remember!" Merrick proclaimed proudly, beating his chest just a tad for emphasis. He knew his sister knew he already knew. It was all either of them could possibly think about! "We have to find Professor Birch ASAP!" He refused to be one of the last people to get started on this electrifying new journey – they would be among the first if not the first to head out if he had anything to say about it. "No lollygagging. We're finding him before anyone else!"

Melanie actually chuckled. Merrick's energy knew no bounds. "Of course, of course," she assuaged, "we won't rest until we find him." His firm nod sent her into a fit of giggles but the slightly younger boy didn't seem to notice. Even if he did, there was very little time for him to comment because the ship arrived at the docks and it was time to head into Slateport. Merrick grabbed Melanie's hand and she could have sworn he would tear it right out of its socket he dragged her so fast. More laughter filled the salty air. As he dragged her toward the Pokémon center she knew: this would be the journey of a lifetime.

Arriving with the other passengers of the acclaimed S.S. Spiral was the one who ran from home. Young Gabriel had spent the entirety of the ferry ride either sleeping away the hours in his cabin or raiding the ship's cafeteria of all of its pudding. The boisterous foghorn blared a loud honk, signaling that it had reached the destination. The lanky slacker sauntered out to the ship's deck with an olive-green Sinnoh Air Force jacket draped over his shoulders. He let out an audible yawn before shielding his eyes from the overwhelming daylight.

"Jeez, that's bright. I forgot what the sun looked like," he observed, slipping his arms into the sleeves of the jacket. Letting his eyes adjust to the surface, Gabriel watched the glistening waves crash against the shore and listened to the sound of a Wingull playfully chirping overhead. Gabriel allowed a small chuckle out of himself and commented, "It's like I never left home." He then spotted the illustrious Magnic Tower in the almost obscure distance. "'Cept Sinnoh didn't have that." At the departure station, the porter handed Gabriel his backpack which held a few travel supplies with his bicycle attached, a modern model that could be easily folded down to a more compact size and shape when it wasn't in use.

The light gale of the wind wafted through his ivory hair as he walked into the town, passing by the local market and heading into the main plaza where he stopped at a bench to rest. There wasn't much the town had to offer that was of particular interest to Gabriel, according to what he saw in the brochure. There was the Oceanic Museum and the local Name Rater, however museum tours only made him sleepy, and he didn't need some random asshole telling him that the names he picked out for his Pokemon were absolute shit. It was unfortunate that he couldn't have been dropped off at Lilycove, as its own department store was a famous tourist attraction - the only issue was that Lilycove was much further away from Littleroot, where Gabriel actually needed to go to begin his career as a professional trainer. Sightseeing, though being a more agreeable choice, could wait. The sooner he was registered, the sooner he could exploit the profession's benefits.

~Selena~

She grew tired of just simply waiting, so Selena decided now would be a good time to take out some of her art supplies and work on something. She lifted her pack onto her knees and quickly found the little case and big sketchpad, setting them down on the table in front of her. Several other trainers in the room had let out their pokemon, so Selena glazed her eyes over the room, looking over each trainer and pokemon before an apparent couple of twins walked through the door. They didn't have their pokemon out, but the sight of them was almost inspiring, the boy dragging the girl practically by her ears.

Selena kicked off her shoes and brought up her knees to place the pad against. With a charcoal pencil in hand she snuck a few glances at them before starting her drawing. Their eyes were wide and bright emerald green. Hair as lightly colored as the sand on Slateport's southern beach. Selena did not bring those colors out, she did not want to color it. Selena could just as easily have taken a picture - if she had a camera - but there was no joy in taking pictures. There was no skill involved, not like what it took to make a realistic drawing.

Selena allowed herself a little smile. Already she can see what these two must be like. Kind, gentle people who never leave each other's sides. How different are they, really, and what must they think of each other? The light reflecting in their eyes, it was so bright to her. Did they know hardship? Did they know rejection? Selena enjoyed asking herself these questions, but never once went out of her way to find the answers. It was invasive enough to draw them without permission, no need to bother them any further.

~Sahara~

Sahara let Frodo sit up on her head again while she jogged lightly through the city. The air was certainly refreshing here, despite it being in a big city. The ocean contributed much to that effect, the salty breeze weaving through the industrialized society like a breath of life. She was so in tune with her breathing she didn't notice the man before barreling right into him. They both yelped and fell to the ground in a heap. Sahara immediately rolls off and shoots up to her feet.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaims profusely, "I didn't look where I was going, stupid me, are you alright?" The man, an older fellow with a receding hairline and wearing a large, white lab coat, grunts a little as he rubs a sore shoulder.

"That's quite alright, miss! It happens to the best of us," he dismisses gratuitously and accepts Sahara's hand to help him up. "I must say though, I didn't expect you to be outside the Pokemon Center, Miss Joy." Sahara felt something get caught in her throat.

"I, uh," she stammered, not entirely sure how to deal with this. "I'm not Nurse Joy. My name's Sahara."

"Ah, my mistake then." This was going to happen to Sahara a lot, she felt. Not something to look forward to, but as long as the rest of the journey went fine there should be no problem. Maybe she should dye her hair again though, just to be on the safe side. The man did somehow look familiar to her though. Sahara pondered for a few moments as the man picks up his fallen bag. "Is that a Froakie you have there?" He asks, jolting her out of her stupor. His face seemed to light up at the sight of the pokemon. "I've been wanting to see one of them ever since Professor Sycamore came over to share research notes! Do you mind if I have a look?"

"Uh, yeah, no problem." Sahara let Frodo go to the man who immediately started turning the pokemon around in his hands. "Who are you, exactly?"

"Ah, excuse me where are my manners? I'm Professor Birch," he says easily, grinning wildly at her. "I have a collection of Pokedex for the new trainers coming in today, which I suppose you are, so here's yours!" Birch reached into his bag, which was absolutely full of new pokedex, and gave one to Sahara. "Just go ahead and enter your name and where you're from and you'll be set. Make sure you hold it in a well-lit area so it can take your picture."

"O-okay," Sahara turned to face the sun and held up the little pokedex to her eye level. It was shaped like a flip-phone, so she didn't have much of a problem opening it. Once it took her picture and she entered her name and Kalos as her origin, she put the dex away and turned back to the professor, who was now holding her pokemon upside-down. "Uh, professor? Shouldn't you be in the Pokemon Center, then?"

"Oh blast it, you're right! I can't be hanging around here. Why don't you join me? I'd love to have a closer look at Froakie, if you don't mind." The frog, on the other hand, seemed a little distressed at the thought, but Sahara gave it a soft smile and shrugged. They had to go to the pokemon center anyway, in order to register for the Pokemon League.

"Sure, let's go."

Slateport was by all accounts a town of lackluster sights and no excitement. Boredom set in within the mere span of a few minutes. "There really isn't anything to do here, is there?" Gabriel complained, leaning his head back over the bench and staring up at the passing clouds. "Well... at least I'm in no rush." He noticed in his peripheral a traffic of Pokemon trainers passing into the Pokemon center behind him, chattering ecstatically as they walked through the sliding doors. "Huh... what's that all about?' he wondered. "Is DJ TM-87 playing here tonight? His music sucks."

Gabriel moved off of the bench and conformed into the moving line, until at last he made his way into the building. Pokemon centers always seemed roomier on the inside than they were on the outside; the main room looked as though it could fit an auditorium's worth of people. Still, Gabriel could not see what everyone was getting worked up over, as they were all waiting around. He took a seat on one of the upholstered ottomans and slid his backpack off next to him. Gabriel figured it was a good time to let out at least one of his Pokemon, so he would at least look like he had business being here. Plucking one of the Pokeballs off of his belt, he clicked the center button to enlarge it and held it out in front of him.

Within a flash of light, a Piplup emerged, sitting on the table in front of him. The tiny penguin rubbed its eyes with its flippers before looking back up at Gabriel and giving a single cheep. "Heya, Duke," Gabriel greeted his Pokemon. "Sorry I didn't let you out to enjoy the ferry with me. You didn't miss much, I promise." Duke simply blinked while continuing to stare at him. "You hungry? I think I still have some trail mix in my bag..." Gabriel unzipped his backpack and reached in for a plastic bag of assorted nuts, dropping a few into his hand and offering it to the Piplup. Duke waddled forth to pick up the food himself, stuffing them into his beak one at a time. After he had finished, Duke tottered and climbed into Gabriel's backpack, poking his head out and falling asleep.

"Hey! You got your own Pokeball to nap in, keep outta there!" Gabriel scolded. "Aw, whatever. Just try not to crush the rest of my snacks. Gabriel looked around and watched all the other people in the room and the ones coming in, observing the diverse gathering of trainers and Pokemon from all over the world. "Guess we'll just chill here for a while and wait to see what's up before we head out."

He then proceeded to spend the next several minutes fiddling around with the apps on his Poketch.

Melanie finally managed to unhinge her brother's fingers from around her wrist by the time he dragged her into the Pokémon Center. The line was long but that did not stop the younger twin from worming his way into the procession – Melanie giggled and joined his side. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a girl with a sketchbook and charcoal pencil drawing steadily but she made no comment. Mer's probably too caught up in all of this to care about anything else... she thought with a grin, nodding along to his chattering she hadn't been paying the utmost attention to. She allowed her thoughts to drift away from the mysterious girl drawing and refocus on her brother caught mid-sentence.

"I definitely think we should go there first – there's a giant contest hall and there are two gym leaders! It'll be a great place to start this journey off on the right foot. Then we can head to Fortree and then–" Melanie held put her hand on his shoulder and he stopped abruptly. She shook her head with a giggle.

"We can go wherever we want, Mer," she chimed, "but Mossdeep is a little ways away. If we head straight there we're sure to miss a ton, plus we would pass through Fortree on the way there." She patted him lightly before reaching and grabbing her Pokégear from her pocket. Although signal wasn't nearly as strong here as it was back in Johto, she still managed to pull up the map application and load Hoenn's data with relative speed. "It would take nearly two weeks to go straight there," she added as she quickly calculated as she scanned the routes. "Not to mention a lot of those are water routes. Goneril's a strong swimmer, but she can't carry us both across the ocean. We'd have to wait on the ferries."

Merrick frowned for a fraction of a second. It didn't suit his face. But before the very idea of arguing with his (clearly right) sister surfaced, the grin spread across his face again. He grabbed the two Pokéballs on his hip and pressed the buttons causing beams of red to strike the floor and take shape. In a moment a Charmander and Shuckle sat at the boy's feet and he beamed down at them. "Romeo! Mozart! We did it! We're in Hoenn!" he announced, eliciting a gleeful response from the Charmander and a solid nod of approval from the Shuckle. Merrick glanced back up at his sister quickly. "She certainly won't be able to if she's cramped in her Pokéball!" he retorted teasingly, earning a mock grimace from his sister. Like her brother's frown, this too did not last.

"You're not wrong," she chuckled, grabbing the two Pokéballs on her hip and pressing the buttons. In a similar laser of crimson energy, a Cyndaquil and Qwilfish sat at the girl's feet. The former quickly hid behind the latter (who simply sat looking disinterested) when it realized just how crowded and loud his new surroundings were. Melanie reached down and picked the little fire mouse up – he shivered in her grasp causing her to stroke him tenderly under the chin. It took a moment but the little Fire-type managed to relax in her arms, nuzzling her before long. "We'll discuss where to head first once we actually get signed up and everything, okay?" she continued albeit more seriously.

Merrick nodded. "Sounds good to me!" he cheered, the Charmander at his feet eliciting another sound of excitement and eagerness. The Shuckle stood stalwart – his eyes remained locked on a male trainer who had entered behind them. The tortoise made no motion. Neither twin noticed. "Do you think there's any way to get this line moving faster?"

~Sahara~

The crowd outside thinned a little as Sahara and Professor Birch drew closer to the Pokemon Center. Most of the new trainers coming in from other regions have already arrived and began to pile into the building. Still, even with so many new trainers there was plenty of room left for more. Sahara felt anxious about entering the place, dreaded it even, but the professor was needed inside and he already asked her to join him there.

"I'd like to ask you a favor, Sahara," Birch says, stopping in front of the sliding glass doors for a moment, turning to her with a big, bright smile. "You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, I'd like for you to assist me here. Don't worry, I just need you to help me walk through the steps to registering their Pokedex. I'll guide you every step of the way."

"Uh, alright then." Did she really have a choice? Sahara figured she might be used like this, just because the professor probably did not have a personal Pokedex on him. Either way, Sahara gathered herself up and followed Birch inside.

The ringing noise hit her like a brick wall. There were so many people inside the Pokemon Center all using their voices making it feel as though they were trying to break the sound barrier. It only got worse when the younger trainers took notice of Professor Birch and immediately started clamoring. Everyone wanted to get on their journey as soon as possible. Wasn't there anyone here who knew how to take it easy? Slateport has a lot to offer those who want to see the whole continent - the coastline is beautiful this time of day.

"Now now, settle down!" Professor Birch's attempts to quiet the trainers were not very effective, but his voice did eventually reach most of them. As the trainers grew quiet and let the professor pass, he gestured towards Sahara, signaling her to step up next to him. "I apologize to everyone for the wait," he begins. "I know you are all excited to begin your journey around Hoenn. I know many of you have aspirations to reach the Magnic Tower, but I would like to say something first. Magnic Tower and the Pokemon League are not the only things this region has to offer. There are hundreds of different Pokemon living in every corner of our continent, Pokemon that could be your greatest friends or worst enemies, depending on the way you treat them. Alongside Pokemon, our region offers wondrous things for you to discover and many friendships to forge. All I ask is that you give Hoenn a chance. A chance to show it's true colors to you so it can enrich your lives."

Sahara couldn't tell if his words got through to anyone, but there seemed to be a stirring in the crowd. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad after all. She quite liked his speech, but soon he gestures for Sahara to step forward. "Thank you for listening, I promise to get you all out of here as soon as possible. My lovely assistant Sahara will help me show you all how to register for the Pokemon League or the Contest Spectacular. All you need is to put in your name and your region, then let the camera on the Pokedex take your picture. After that it becomes your personal ID card. Sahara, go ahead and place your Pokedex on the computer over there."

Right by Nurse Joy's desk sits a large screen with a small pad outlined in the very center. Sahara steps up to the desk and places the Pokedex on the pad, as she was asked. A large monitor above them flips on to show the screen to everyone in the room. Four bright tabs appear and the screen displays Sahara's name and origin region: Kalos. One tab would allow her to register for the Pokemon League, and another for the Contest Spectacular. Sahara quickly taps the tab for the League and a confirmation screen pops up, to which she clicks through.

"Congratulations, you are now registered for the Pokemon League!" The computer beeps up at her.

"Easy as that, I suppose." Sahara shrugs and puts the Pokedex away.

Professor Birch, clearly satisfied, rubs his hands together with a healthy grin. "Excellent! Now please form a line away from the door so I can hand you each your new Pokedex. If you have any trouble, feel free to ask Sahara - she's already done it once so I'm sure she can help you."

"I almost feel sorry for his real assistants," Sahara mumbles under her breath.

Gabriel had been streaming Holo Caster videos of past championship battles, intently taking note of the battling styles of each trainer. "Huh, they sure don't mess around in Johto," he commented to himself, watching as a Typhlosion went head-on against a Houndoom. "Karen of the Elite Four was pretty cute in her heyday. She's no Cynthia, but she's up there. What else is on?" Gabriel flipped through channels and stopped at what appeared to be the end of another battle. It was a live feed from Route 111 by an interviewer standing next to a trainer in the aftermath of their Pokemon battle.

"Wow! What a great battle! I knew we would discover a talented trainer from the get-go!" the interviewer exclaimed. "Now then, if you wouldn't mind giving us another few moments of your time... how would you describe your feelings about the battle we just had?" The camera then panned over and focused onto a trainer with a blank and almost soulless expression on his face before he responded with the words "MYSTERY. GIFT." in an eerie and monotonous deadpan. "Mmm, yeah! That's the perfect clincher! 'MYSTERY. GIFT.' Wow," the interviewer repeated with the utmost enthusiasm. Gabriel shut off the Holo Caster with disgust, shaking his head. "I thought this show would've been cancelled by now. Every trainer they find says the weirdest shit."

It was then that a larger commotion stirred in the Pokemon center, as a middle-aged man and a pink-haired girl made their way through the crowd and addressed the patrons of the center. The man was none other than Professor Birch, conveniently here to distribute Pokedexes to all the new challengers of Hoenn - a pleasant surprise considering Gabriel would no longer have to travel all the way to Littleroot to officially begin his career. Gabriel strapped on his backpack, the dozy little Piplup still snoozing away as Gabriel stepped into the line. He managed to catch a closer glimpse of the girl that was standing by the professor.

Hm... she's not bad either. Her vibe just screams 'manic pixie dream girl', but she's not bad.

~Selena~

Nice speech, but Selena already had her own plans for this trip. It wasn't about visiting Magnic Tower, or defeating the Pokemon League, or participating in contests. So whether or not Professor Birch wanted her to participate in any of those things didn't really matter to her. A line began forming close to the professor and he started handing out Pokedex. It might be a little while before she got her turn, and Selena did not want to wait in any lines, so she sat back to get comfortable and wait.

She finished the drawing a little bit ago, though it was all just a pencil sketch - Selena had no intentions of coloring it. She wasn't in the mood for making another, so she set the sketchpad down on the table and put her art supplies back into her bag. Her hand touched one of the spare Pokeballs, making her stop. Maybe she should let them out for some air. As long as she was here to rest, those two should get some time outside as well.

Set in her decision, Selena reached to her belt and placed the two Pokeballs down on the table, the ones that contained her friends. Selena painted over both, so instead of the standard red and white her spares had, these could be easily distinguished. One was colored mostly green in a broken, leaf pattern with a large, pink flower blooming on top. The other was almost entirely black with a yellow splotch in the center. A jagged white line ran across the center.

"Come on out, you two," Selena murmurs, poking the buttons on each of them. The balls shot open and in a flash of white light the two Pokemon materialized, a Chikorita and Mawile. Immediately upon exiting they both began stretching their muscles, as if they were cramped up for a long time. "Welcome to Hoenn," Selena tells them. "I'm sorry for not letting you out earlier. I didn't want to cause anyone trouble on the ship over." The two Pokemon didn't seem to mind, though they both looked ready to jump outside. "Just a little bit longer," Selena says, "then we'll go outside."

Things became a commotion when Professor Birch stepped in – Merrick had only added to this by dragging his sister over to the front of the orderly line held away from the door. A quick, energetic "thank you" passed through his lips when a Pokédex was passed into his hands. His fingers fiddled with the buttons and in no time he was posing for a selfie that would ultimately act as his photo ID. "This is so cool!" he exclaimed to himself as he finished up, rushing over to the machine on Nurse Joy's desk. His Pokémon struggled to keep up with his excitement, finding him completely finished with registration by the time they reached him. He beamed down at them! "This is it, guys. We can start training for contests now!"

The Charmander elicited another happy squeal; the Shuckle seemed to shrug but otherwise looked fairly content. The younger twin could have easily taken their respective responses for what they were and dashed off, but then he noticed that Melanie hadn't exactly rushed about as he had. She waited patiently behind several other trainers, holding her Pokédex in one hand and her Cyndaquil in the crook of her other arm. She did not make a motion for the line to move more quickly nor did she really look at anyone around her besides her Pokémon. In fact, the look on her face (which Merrick knew all to well) showed she was starting to get a little overwhelmed by the number of people around. "Meeeeeelllllll....." he called in mock exasperation, earning a frown from his sister.

"Hold on, Mer," she stated evenly, "it shouldn't take me too long. Find someone to talk to!" And before her brother could possibly argue (not that he really would) she went back to paying her Cyndaquil mind. The Qwilfish at her feet puffed up just a tad and Merrick stuck his tongue out at her. The pufferfish blinked and remained inflated. Merrick shrugged to himself.

"Okay," he exhaled neutrally, emerald-colored eyes scanning the rest of the Pokémon Center. Of all the people that had gotten their Pokédexes taken care of already, the only one that had really seemed to stick around was the girl with bright pink hair – the one who had acted as Professor Birch's assistant. What had he said her name was? It had shown on the screen. Her name... she was doing the Pokémon League challenge... she was from Kalos... what was her name? Merrick racked his brain; he knew he should have paid more careful attention. Name... some kinda name... Was it Sarah? The boy shrugged mentally. That sounded partially correct. Not fretting it too much (as she would likely reintroduce herself anyway) he approached and gave her a friendly wave.

"Hey there," Merrick greeted with a bright, genuine smile, the kind he always gave to people that could be new friends. "I don't really need help," he admitted, "but it's cool of you to help out the professor. Things are crazy today – I'm sure he appreciates it, especially since you're not from around here!" He then pointed with his thumb at his sister who was still busy on the line. "My sister was telling me on the ride over how many new people would be coming to Hoenn; the boat from Johto was so full, I knew there would be a lot of us, but I never expected to see someone from Kalos!" He chuckled to himself slightly – this adventure was turning out to be amazing already. "I'm Merrick, by the way."

~Sahara~

Professor Birch had given her a couple Pokedex to hand out to people in the line, just so they could get things moving along a little quicker. She didn't mind, and Frodo seemed to enjoy helping her out. The little Froakie would take one of the machines, hop over to someone in line, then hop back over to Sahara with a big smile on its face. It wouldn't be long before everyone had a Pokedex. The trainers seemed to enjoy receiving a Pokedex from the little one. Sahara spotted one trainer giving Frodo a treat.

Sahara was approached by a boy, to which she was already prepared to hand over a Pokedex to before remembering he was one of the first ones in line. He introduced himself and commented about not expecting someone to come over from Kalos, which in itself would be an accurate assumption. "I don't really remember any other trainers coming from Kalos on my ferry," Sahara comments. "Maybe a handful." Frodo hopped over and Sahara let it jump onto her arm and then sit atop her head. "I'm Sahara, and this little one is called Frodo. Nice to meet you, Merrick." Sahara gave the boy a little smile.

"And you must be a Charmander," Sahara says, crouching down to look at the pokemon following Merrick around. "Professor Sycamore kept one in his labs, though it was already a Charmeleon when I gave him a visit." Sarah looked over to the pokemon in a big hard shell covered in holes. "I'm afraid I don't know this one." When training to be a nurse, Sahara was supposed to know everything about every Pokemon, but she never got too deep into studying Pokemon from other regions.

"It's nice to meet you both!" Merrick chimed in response, practically alight at meeting such a friendly person. "I've never seen a Froakie in person before," the younger twin added, immediately flipping open his Pokédex and scanning the frog Pokémon in front of him. The device beeped twice and then a monotone male voice blurted out: Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. It protects its skin by covering its body in delicate bubbles. Beneath its happy-go-lucky air, it keeps a watchful eye on its surroundings.

That's interesting, he thought to himself, looking at the coating of bubbles which covered the majority of Froakie's back and shoulders. And it's good to see this thing actually works, he mused contently, watching as the Water-type made itself comfortable on Sahara's head.

"Yeah! His name's Romeo," Merrick answered happily when Sahara kneeled down to take a closer look at his Charmander. She then mentioned that she had no idea what a Shuckle was – Merrick had never thought about it before. He supposed there were lots of Pokémon he was familiar with that other people wouldn't be and vice versa. "And that's Mozart. He's a Shuckle – they're pretty rare in Johto. My sister caught him around Olivine City and traded him to me."

As if on cue, Melanie approached from behind with both her Pokémon in tow. "That would be me," she stated as she came to stand next to her brother. She smiled at the girl, albeit a little uneasily. She seemed friendly enough but Merrick never did have a problem talking to anyone. Even those that did not necessarily want to talk to him. The older twin drew her Cyndaquil closer to her body and shifted her weight. "I'm Melanie, by the way," she added casually, trying to keep eye contact but faltering. Her gaze fell to the Qwilfish on the floor which let out a puff of air and closed its eyes. So much for moral support...

"I'm good to go whenever you are, Mer," she whispered, trying her best to make sure she wasn't sounding rude. She certainly wasn't going to pull Merrick away from making a new friend, but people weren't necessarily her strong suit.

Oh wow, even more twins. And Sahara thought she had enough of seeing double or triple. So both of these new trainers had two Pokemon, while she only had one. Of course it was fine, Sahara had only just begun her first adventure, so having just Frodo was enough. "It's very nice to meet you, Melanie. I'm Sahara, and this is Frodo." Sahara bowed her head slightly to the girl. Look-alike or not, the boy and girl had very different personalities, or so it seemed. Maybe they were raised apart from each other? The personalities of all her cousins seemed to meld into one being, Sahara had to work hard to be different.

"Sounds like your sister really wants to head out," Sahara says, turning her head to Merrick with a smile plastered to her face. "I won't keep you. Professor Birch asked me to stick around after he was done handing out Pokedex." Sahara glances back to where Birch is just now finishing handing out the last of the Pokedex. Only a couple trainers remain, so it should not be long now before he'll be asking her to take Frodo to get a closer look at him. The Froakie didn't seem excited about it, it started covering up its face with the foam around its neck when it saw Birch.

"So, I guess I'll see you around?" Sahara smiles brightly. New friend or not, she was just glad they didn't mistake her for another Joy, especially since the one that was here is still in sight. Sahara quickly bows to the twins again and walks towards Professor Birch.

"And here you are, miss," Professor Birch says with a smile as he hands a Pokedex up to Selena. She takes it and frowns a bit before pocketing the thing. "Might I ask which challenge you will be aiming for?" Birch asks.

"Not interested," Selena remarks. The Mawile and Chikorita shuffle their feet a little. Selena didn't seem to notice.

"I think your Pokemon would enjoy competing in Contests or the Pokemon League," Birch pushes further, watching the two Pokemon move about.

"They're restless because they've been cooped up in their Pokeballs for too long," Selena explains, glancing down at the two. She notices Sahara walking over out of the corner of her eye and nods to the Professor. "But I'll think about it. Thank you for the encyclopedia." And with that, Selena walks out, her two Pokemon at her heels.

"Professor Birch." Sahara steps up after the other girl leaves. "Is everything ready? You wanted to take another look at Frodo, right?"

"Hmm," Birch glances at the Froakie for a bit. "Tell you what. Come and visit me at my lab in Littleroot, when you get the chance. I'd like to examine him there, where I can record my data. How's that sound?"

"Oh, that's fine. I'll be sure to visit you." Sahara promises. Were there any other trainers left who had not yet received a Pokedex? Maybe they would show up late, but now Sahara wasn't sure what she wanted to do. Maybe she'll visit the beach to let Frodo swim around in the ocean for a bit.

The line was a lot longer than Gabriel had anticipated, and it didn't quite help that he was literally the very back. He wasn't in any particular rush, and standing in place wasn't particularly physically demanding - at least for the first several minutes or so, but Gabriel was already starting to envy Duke sleeping comfortably in the backpack. As the line thinned out, Gabriel noticed a girl passing by with a Chikorita and Mawile by her side. He spared a quick glance over at the hybrid-typed steel and fairy Pokemon.

Mawile, huh? Interesting... maybe I should catch one myself. If only the ship would have made a quick stop at Dewford, I could have paid Granite Cave a visit. Oh well.

When Gabriel had turned back around, the line was gone and he was left standing in the middle of the Pokemon Center with no one keeping him from receiving his Pokedex. He stepped forward, the little penguin snoring away as he approached the counter. The pink-haired girl from before seemed to be talking to a pair of twins dressed in anything but ordinary casual attire. If I were to guess, his thoughts began. I'd say they're theater kids. I remember seeing a bunch of them when I was visiting Hearthome. They take their shit seriously from what I recall; showbiz is pretty damn cutthroat nowadays. Gabriel finally made his way to Professor Birch and asked for his Pokedex.

"Hi uh... I'm here for my Pokedex. Hope I'm not too late or anything."

~Selena~

What was the point of going through trials just to defeat Pokemon? There was so much more interesting things about this continent than just messing around in glorified cockfighting. Selena took out a small cylindrical container and pulled at one of the sides until it snapped into place. The map automatically set itself to the Hoenn region and focused in on her location - Slateport City, the city that had nothing to offer other than a sandy beach and a museum filled with broken ship parts. Selena fingered the screen and zoomed out on the map a bit, figuring out where she wanted to go first.

A tug at her leg drew her attention. Selena closed the map and crouched down to pet its head. "What's wrong, Mawile?" she murmurs, noticing the distinct change in the little one's expression. It pointed to a large building some distance away. A Contest Hall, Selena knew. It was marked as such on her map. "It's closed, little one," Selena told the Mawile. "Did you want to watch a performance?" Mawile nodded once. Maybe it was just curious about these contests and what they could offer. The Mawile only recently joined her and Chikorita, and it seemed to be of a like mind to them, but Selena understood the curiosity.

"How about this, I'll keep an eye out on the Contest schedules and we can go watch one together." Mawile smiled and gave a happy cry. "It's a promise then." Selena kept close to the ground and reopened her map. Slateport's Contest hall would not be open again for another week. The next scheduled Contest would be in Verdanturf, two days from now. Not nearly enough time to get there. "Hmm, this might be tricky." Selena hums. Selena wanted to go to the Petalburg Forest first, but there were not any contest halls near there. The time it would take to get to Petalburg and then back to Slateport would be too long as well, Slateport's contest would be over. She could just stay nearby until Slateport's opened, but maybe that wasn't the best idea.

"I'd like to fulfill that promise soon," Selena says, "but I don't think I'll be able to. For starters, let's head for Mauville." With that part agreed on, Selena closed up her map and lead the two Pokemon out of the city. She wanted them to get at least a little exercise before putting one or both back into their Pokeballs. Soon they would be out of the city and into the forest.

~Sahara~

Another trainer came up as the Pokemon Center continued to empty out. Now came the ones with difficulty being around others, apparently. Professor Birch was more than happy to dig into his bag to fetch the kid a Pokedex of his own. "Here you are," he says. "Don't forget to register at the computer!" Sahara found herself staring and quickly broke herself away. She shouldn't be standing around here anymore, not after the professor invited her to Littleroot.

"I'm heading out, Professor Birch," Sahara says, "thank you again for the Pokedex."

"Of course, you be safe now, Sahara."

Sahara nodded, then rushed out the door. The Froakie on her head jumped off to run beside her, it seemed to enjoy the chance to run again. Sahara stopped just outside the Pokemon Center, standing away from the door and looking up at the sky. The blue color was stronger here than in Lumiose City. She could almost get lost in that expanse, but Frodo called up to her and she snapped out of her trance.

"Sorry buddy," Sahara says. "I just feel so liberated, having come here. You've no idea how much I've wanted to escape from Kalos. I'm just glad I have a friend to keep me company." She beamed. Today was going to be a marvelous day.

"Sweet, thanks," Gabriel said, taking the Pokedex and examining all the buttons on it. At the computer, Gabriel went through the necessary procedure to officially register for the Hoenn League, and for his picture he held up the Pokedex and beamed a comical grin that he figured a serial killer would have. He had no intentions of being professional about his identification picture, though he had a hunch it would come back to haunt him later. "Well, what to do now..." he wondered aloud. "Guess it's time to get going."

He stepped outside, taking a big stretch before removing his bicycle from the side of his bag. Within a few seconds, Gabriel assembled it into functioning form, and sat upon the seat. "Alright, so Mauville City is just past Route 110 and it's where the closest gym is," Gabriel began planning. "Maybe I'll get to see some cool Pokemon along the way." And so he set off, pedaling off towards the exit of the town, weaving past other pedestrians along the way. He wasn't as enthusiastic as the average trainer would be for one starting their journey, but at least this was something he put enough motivation into committing to.

Melanie's smile faded as Merrick finished up his conversation and the girl walked away. Had Sahara taken that badly? The older twin certainly hoped the pink-haired girl hadn't been offended. The look on Merrick's face told her that he wasn't upset, but there was a slight twinge of disappointment – he had seemed like he really enjoyed talking with the Kalos trainer. This is dumb, Melanie thought, she said she'd see us around. You didn't ruin anything. Nevertheless, a small sigh escaped her lips and she turned her attention to the Cyndaquil resting comfortably in her arms. Now that most of the people had cleared out, the poor thing had calmed down and now sat looking around curiously. At least one of them was having a better day.

"You ready?" Merrick's voice shattered her pity party – the older sibling looked up and forced a small smile. She nodded quickly and the younger twin smiled jovially. "Sounds good to me! Let's head out!" Once again, it was evident that the boy's energy and excitement would not falter. He grabbed his sister's hand and started to drag her outside only to stop upon hitting the door. Sahara stood right in front of the door. Letting go of his sibling's hand, he approached the older girl and tapped her on the shoulder. His Pokémon rushed to his side; Melanie stood in the doorway, silently calling back her Qwilfish.

"Long time no see," he joked, chuckling to himself although he was fairly sure it wasn't too funny. As his chuckles died away, he put on a slightly more serious face. He had meant to say something earlier but hadn't had the chance before the Kalos trainer had walked off. "I don't mean to bother you – I'm sure like my sister you're excited to head out and get a jump on your challenge – but I meant to give you this." The teen pulled a black pen and a small notepad out of his pocket and quickly scribbled a series of numbers on it. "That's my Pokégear number. I'm not sure if you have one, but you can reach it from any phone... if you ever wanna catch up on the road or meet for a battle or something, I'm game."

Gabriel would soon cross into the trail of Route 110, a straightforward dirt path that stretched on for quite a ways. He would find himself at an intersection; one way leading towards Route 103, while the other continued on to Mauville. Ahead of him was a building with a sign by it that read "Trick House", a name that caused Gabriel to raise an eyebrow. "Well that isn't shady at all. I bet some kind of weird freak lives here." He shook his head and continued onward towards his destination. The grassy path under the large man-made bridge was a more scenic route, and one where Gabriel wouldn't have to worry about colliding into other cyclists.

Posted in the grass was another wooden signboard that read: "Trainer Tips: The items in the BAG can be reorganized by pressing SELECT." Gabriel merely scratched his head. "What." In the distance a facility could be spotted on a tiny islet sitting in a large but shallow pool of water. Looks like a power plant, Gabriel thought. Bet there's some worthwhile Pokemon I can find in there. There's always Pokemon hanging around power plants. Hell yeah, let's go. Before he set off for the large building, Gabriel looked back at the sign and grabbed a marker from the side pouch of his backpack. He crossed out the original text and defaced the sign so that it now read: "Trainer Tips: Repel is made from urine."

~Sahara~

"Oh?" Sahara was not too surprised to see Merrick again, though he seemed to think the reencounter was funny. In the midst of her confusion he handed her a small paper with a number on it. Sahara did not have a Pokegear, or have any idea what it was all about, but she took it anyway and shoved it into her pocket. "I don't have a Pokegear, but thanks." Even if she did have one she wasn't sure she'd be so willing to hand out her number to every stranger she came across. The last thing she wanted to have was getting a phone call from some kid called Joey talking about his top percentage Rattata.

After saying farewell - again - Sahara and her Froakie set off southward at a jog. The beach slowly rose up to meet them and it wasn't until they were halfway onto the sand before Sahara kicked off her shoes and socks to put them away. The sun warmed the sand beenath her feet and she let out a nice sigh. There were a few changing rooms closer to the city, but Sahara didn't intend to go into the water, not today at least. She walked alongside the coastline instead, letting the water rush over her feet and watching Frodo swim around.

-

~Selena~

"Hey miss! Battle me!"

Selena ignored the voice, walking past the young man standing on the road. One of the trainers just come in from the ferry, no doubt. He seemed raring to go for a fight alongside his Rattata, but Selena had no interest. She had since put Chikorita back into its ball, so now only Mawile walked alongside her. The little one followed Selena's lead and ignored the kid. The low road was already proving to be the worst of two choices, but the pathway through the lake was proving to be a very beautiful one.

If only she could find a place to be alone. The kid started following her and demanding for her to battle him. "Come on, you're just scared of my awesome Rattata! It's in the top percentage of all Rattata, after all!" Was this going to be a recurring thing with trainers in Hoenn? Selena could do without. Mawile, however, didn't have quite as thick skin as Selena did and turned around, growling at the boy.

"Calm down, little one," Selena told it. When those words didn't work, Selena sighed and turned around. "Fine, kid. You managed to annoy Mawile enough, so you'll get your battle. Mawile, you're free to do as you wish." That didn't faze the kid or the Mawile.

"Alright, Rattata, use Super Fang!" The little rat charged forward, straight at the steel-type with glowing white fangs. Just before the rat reached Mawile, Mawile threw it's massive jaw around its head to send the Rattata flying. It soared through the air and dropped into the lake, where it began struggling in the water. "Oh no!" The kid cried, immediately jumping in the water to go save his Pokemon.

"Good thinking," Selena muttered. "Let's go, before they get back." Finally, a chance for solitude. Selena won't feel sorry for the next unlucky sap to get annoyed by the Rattata kid.

Day and Time: Tuesday – Afternoon

Melanie stifled a chuckle as Sahara vanished, leaving with an air of discomfort. No doubt Merrick's gesture had scared the girl – who in their right mind would give their number out to someone they just met? Her brother, clearly. The older twin came up behind her brother and propped her arm up on his shoulder, watching as the girl's long pink hair flowed behind her. "Nice one, Mer," she chided playfully, "she probably thinks you have some sort of weird crush on her." The boy's head whirled around, the look on his face displaying he was less than happy with his sister's remarks.

"Do not!" he replied vehemently, knocking her arm from his shoulder. "I just thought it'd be cool to make a friend or... whatever," his voice tapered off and he quickly lost steam. He certainly didn't have a crush on Sahara, but... well, he hadn't thought that maybe giving her his number would be taken badly. She seemed cool enough and maybe she'd actually call sometime – he would like to battle her at some point. Battles weren't even his thing! . . . Maybe he did have a crush... No. Uh-uh. Not a crush. Mel's just getting in your head, he thought, reaching for his Pokéballs and calling both of his Pokémon back to him. "Anyway, let's figure out where we're going. It doesn't look like Slateport has much to offer in terms of the getting further in our challenges."

Melanie turned her head to see what her brother was staring at. The contest hall had a large sign marked "Closed" sitting by the door. There had been a contest earlier that day by the looks of things, but now things had been packed up and there likely wouldn't be another one anytime soon. Checking the News app on her Pokégear, she quickly confirmed that Slateport only held a contest once a week on Tuesdays. Unless the duo wanted to stick around for a whole week and explore the port city (which certainly wasn't big enough to require a whole week,) they would be better off getting a move on and figuring something else out. "You're right," the older twin agreed as she flipped over to her Map app, "let's head north to Mauville. There's a gym there and it's kind of the center of everything. It'll be easy to pick a path from there."

With both siblings in agreement, they quickly turned to head north and proceeded up the path leading toward Route 110. No sooner had they gotten on the road did they find themselves at a crossroads. The sign stated one way went off toward Route 103 while the other went on ahead to Mauville, but there was another sign that simply read "Trick House." Both twins looked at each other after reading it and shook their heads – whatever that was could not be good for either of them at all. Without a word they continued onto the grassy lowroad, ignoring the graffiti-ridden sign posted in the tall grass as they continued along the scenic route.

~Sahara~

The time flows by at a steady pace and soon the sun started to set over the horizon. Sahara called her Pokemon back to her, she was about ready to head back to the city. There was still plenty she could do here. Before she could escape the beach, however, she saw a group of four trainers converging on the beach. They were all laughing or smiling and two of the boys were carrying some wood alongside their Pokemon - a Machop and Tyrogue specifically. Sahara had never seen either, so her first thought was to approach them, but she didn't want to disturb them so she took out her Pokedex instead.

After a couple beeps and pointing the machine at the Pokemon, her Dex droned out: "Machop, the Superpower Pokemon. Machop's muscles are special-they never get sore no matter how much they are used in exercise. This Pokémon has sufficient power to hurl a hundred adult humans." Then she pointed it at the other one. "Tyrogue, the Scuffle Pokemon. Tyrogue becomes stressed out if it does not get to train every day. When raising this Pokémon, the Trainer must establish and uphold various training methods." Sahara let herself smile a little bit. Fighting type pokemon always intrigued her. Machoke were frequently used in Kalos for construction projects, but she had never seen the pre-evolutionary form.

"Hey, Pink Hair!" Sahara felt caught off-guard when one of the boys called to her. "Come on over!" The group was waving her over with great big smiles on their faces, so Sahara thought, why not? Frodo walked beside her as the four let her into the circle.

"Uh," Sahara started, unsure how to cope with the new situation.

"I'm Adam," the guy who called her over says, grinning wildly and pressing his hand against his dark blue shirt. Mousy blond hair and shocking blue eyes, the Machop stuck by his side. "This is Tyrone, Elisabeth, and Jessica." The boy pointed to a dark-skinned boy with the Tyrogue - black hair and eyes and built similarly to the Machop. Then to a girl shorter than all of them, including Sahara, with teal blue eyes and wavy brown hair. The last girl had blue eyes and blond hair as well. "What's your name?" Adam asks.

"Sahara," she answers.

"We were going to camp out and set off some fireworks. Want to join us?" Sahara felt a little strange. This was obviously a group of friends she was intruding on. Sahara didn't know them and felt out of place. But if this is how people in Hoenn make friends, then she needed to brave. Their smiles helped.

"I'd love to."

~Selena~

The setting sun is truly something to behold. Selena set up her tent just an hour ago and made it face east, where the sun would rise. Now she rested with her back leaning against Mawile's large jaw. She let Chikorita out earlier, who now rest beside her, its head using her legs as a pillow. She could hear the little ones' steady breathing as they slept while she watched the colors in the sky change. With her sketchpad out and an array of colored pencils at hand, Selena painted the sky into her notebook.

For a moment, she closed her eyes and tried to imagine what she and her Pokemon must look like now. The girl with long brown hair gazing up into the sky, one hand on her Chikorita and the other supporting her notepad. Mawile and her back-to-back, one sleeping while she drew the sky. She saw it and a calm peace overcame her. After opening her eyes again, Selena noticed that she and her Pokemon were not alone any more. Some wild Pokemon took notice of them, one or two she could recognize from her visits to other regions.

Selena bit her lower lip. She wanted to invite them over. Her mind made up, she started humming. Low notes at first, broken and scattered enough to wake Mawile and Chikorita before she could connect the tones. They eased back into sleep as Selena continued to hum, her pencils working easily over the paper. Soon enough the other Pokemon drew closer and sat around her in a half-circle.

Selena's Humming: Humming

When her song ended, Selena took a moment to glance around, finding all the Pokemon around her fast asleep. Now she could really imagine herself. This was what she wanted. Not badges or contests or some challenge that put Pokemon lives at stake. All she ever wanted was to be one with nature, just like this. Now that she knew, she could finally be at peace. Sleep took her.

~Sahara~

"So where are you from, Sahara?" Sahara found herself growing a little more comfortable around these strangers. Little by little she noticed all they wanted was to have fun during the night and seemed genuinely interested in her and who she was. Adam kept asking her personal questions, always with a smile. Sahara got the feeling he was more than just interested in her, but she would indulge him for now.

"I'm from Kalos," she answered easily, petting Frodo's head. "Professor Sycamore helped me out a lot. He gave me Frodo here and booked a ferry to Hoenn for me." He did a lot more than just help her get to Hoenn. He helped her escape from her parents and the life she was supposedly "born to live for." She didn't want to be another nobody - Sahara was tired of that life of lookalikes with no real future. Not a future she couldn't make for herself.

"That's pretty cool." Another gesture, another smile. More like a grin, actually, Adam's face was nearly splitting in half when she responded to him.

"Watch out Sahara," Elizabeth warns. She could see the ghost of amusement on her lips. "Keep being nice to him and Adam won't know how to handle you."

"Liz!" The look of defeat on his face combined with Elisabeth's bubbly giggles makes Sahara laugh. This was the first time she ever experienced a circle of friends like this. Professor Birch was right, Hoenn had so much to offer that she couldn't even begin to fathom what awaited her.

"Hey guys, fireworks are ready!" Tyrone called over. Their camp was set up far away from where the fireworks would be set off. They didn't have an extra bedroll for Sahara but she just set her sleeping bag out in the open, not really worried about the sand. The firewood sat in the sand behind them a ways, ready to be used but it wasn't totally dark just yet. The sun was starting to set and it wouldn't be long before the fireworks and the fire started.

Tyrone and Jessica did all the work with the fireworks, lying them out to stay dry while keeping some of the smaller ones - like sparklers - in a little wooden bin. The first thing Adam did when he reached them was pull out two of the sparklers and turn around to hand one to Sahara.

"Here," he says. Sahara smiles a little and accepts it, crouching down to Frodo's level before igniting it. The little Pokemon's eyes light up in awe as the sparkler activates, spraying countless little stars everywhere. Tonight was going to be a good night, and the perfect night to celebrate the start of their new adventure. Come morning, Sahara will officially be a totally different person than the Joy from Kalos.

He was already pedaling in full motion towards the site of his awaited encounters when a sound had caught him; entrapped him in place. Was it... faint humming? A simple melody performed by the indefatigable instrument that was the human voice - enrapturing all the same. Gabriel halted his bicycle, a single foot on the ground. For a long moment he stared upon the flaxen-streaked horizon, with a pensive remembrance rekindled in his mind. An old memory surfaced as vividly as any waking dream.

It was Sunyshore City, two years ago. A stage, and an audience, all set in the middle of the coastal town. A lone chanteuse stands, her face veiled like a silhouette. The falling crepusular light of the sun painted a celestial backdrop to the ethereal figure, and a single spotlight shone to embrace her, only to be the envy of the crowd. The anticipated murmurs of the audience came to a deafened hush, and the air of the night was set before even an outset descant. Then... there was the song. The smoky, cherubic voice that escaped the singer's rose petal lips stifled all who listened in awe, and for one night, the entire world was at her fingertips. It was like divine language gracing the earth with a passion's kiss, and it was an ephemeral memory that laid dormant in the alcoves of Gabriel's mind until now.

Gabriel had to find the source of the humming; the tune that awakened the memory. He turned the direction of his bicycle rearwards and sped back onto the dry land. It was getting darker with night in pursuit, but Gabriel was determined to find the voice before the day was over. Sure enough, he had found it. A young trainer he had seen before at the Pokemon Center; the one with the Mawile. He didn't seem to have a legitimate reason for approaching her other than to confirm that she had been the one humming, so he uttered the first word that came to mind.

"Hi."