“Did you remember to pack your toothbrush?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
“What about your deodorant? And your-”
“Yes, Grandpa!” It took a lot of willpower on Bianca's part to cut him off before he could finish that statement. She was already stewing in embarrassment as her grandfather ran through the list of things she already packed for the umpteenth time.
She knew why he did it, but it didn’t make it any less aggravating. In fact, it was only exacerbated by the fact that her traveling companion and guide was standing right there, listening with a knowing look on his face. He chuckled and looked to the mouse perched on his shoulder, “Reminds me of when we first started traveling, right buddy?”
“Pika!”
Ah, that makes sense.
After double checking all of her luggage's straps and zippers were secure– with Latias’ “help”, of course– Bianca leveled an inquiring stare at her guide.
“Really? And how did that go?”
Her curiosity grew as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, looking anywhere but at her. “Well…my mom was quite persistent about what I packed. Particularly….”
He stopped there, and Pikachu snickered, “Pika-pikachu.”
Immediately, Latias started laughing, trying and failing to cover her mouth with a red and white paw, drawing Bianca’s attention.
The dragoness’ honey-colored eyes focused on Ash mischievously as she giggled, “Well, Ash? Do you remember to pack clean underwear?”
Bianca bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing.
Sadly, he wasn’t spared from Lorenzo’s roar of laughter, even as he protested, “Of course I do!”He crossed his arms and turned away, although Bianca could tell he wasn’t as peeved as he made himself out to be.
‘Well, at least now I know why he was insistent on hygiene,’ she thought to herself as she leaned away from her things, ‘Although I'm not sure I would have been as appreciative if he started asking about my underwear.’ Grimacing at the thought, everyone's attention was caught by a knock at the door. Latias immediately went invisible.
Bianca and Lorenzo exchanged confused glances, even as Ash muttered, “Huh, didn’t know you guys were expecting someone.”
“We aren’t,” Lorenzo replied as he started to make his way to the door, turning and glancing at where Latias was visible moments before. “Go find your brother, Tia. He's gonna miss Bianca’s departure otherwise.”
There was another knock, prompting Lorenzo to grumble loudly as Bianca felt Latias brush past her and race out the back door, “Yeah, yeah, hold your Rapidashes. I’m almost there.”
Bianca peered around the corner as her grandfather yanked the door open.
“Officer Lospio?” His confused voice prompted Bianca to actually get up and investigate. “What can I do for you?”
More like, “What are you doing here,” she thought as she stopped and observed the two men, hearing Ash come up behind her.
“Good morning, sir,” came the even reply from the officer, the ever-present neutral face staring back at her grandfather before his attention focused on her. “Ah, Bianca. Just the one I was hoping to see….”
He trailed off as he noticed Ash standing just off to the side, his face somehow becoming even more unreadable. “The young man that saved the museum? It seems you’ve returned from…Alola, was it?”
“Yeah! You remembered?” Came Ash's surprised reply, sounding a little more impressed than what Bianca felt was warranted.
Officer Lospio gave a short nod of confirmation. “Of course. It’s my job to remember details like that, not to mention I don’t get many opportunities to…ah, interview people of such regard as you. I would be remiss to forget yours, given the circumstances.
Bianca caught a glimpse of Ash as the trainer scratched his chin thoughtfully. “That makes sense. Actually, that reminds me. Whatever happened with uh.. What are their names?”
She stifled a growl as her face soured, her grandfather’s much the same. Up until now, Annie and Oakley had been a distant thought, pushed to the very recesses of her mind. A warning to be more cautious, but nothing that could spoil her mood.
‘And then Ash had to open his mouth,’ she thought dryly. ‘Is this going to be another recurring issue?’
Meanwhile, Officer Lospio tilted his head slightly, as though considering his answer.
“Well,” he began with a careful tone, “I can’t quite give information out like that, I’m afraid. My higher ups wouldn’t be very pleased with me, as you can imagine. However, I can tell you that the last my department heard from them, they were transferred to a prison where they will not be making any escapes any time soon, or at all.”
Despite her initial annoyance at the mention of the women, Bianca couldn’t help but relax at hearing that. She wouldn’t have to be looking over her shoulder every day… Neither would the twins.
At least, not as much. Annie and Oakley were hardly the first to be interested in the DMA, although they were the first to get so far.
“That’s a relief to hear, sir,” she said with a small smile, pushing the thought to the side. “I had hoped they would be jailed for what they tried to do. Especially after attacking me,” Bianca finished with a growl, frowning at the thought of that Espeon and Ariados attacking any other hapless victim. ‘Cowards, using Pokemon to directly attack people.’
Officer Lospio leveled a small smile at her, probably the most expressive she’s seen him lately, although it didn’t reach his eyes. “Indeed. Rest assured, that particular action of theirs will not go unpunished. Directly attacking humans with Pokemon is highly frowned upon; even in organized crime, it is typically used as a last resort,” he explained, making them nod. That aligned with what she’s heard.
“Of course, I still wouldn’t go about testing your luck,” Lospio cautioned, staring intently at her. “There’s nothing in their honor system, if you can call it as such, that says the trainers themselves can’t get involved. So please be sure to not do anything too foolhardy…which brings us to your question as to why I am here.”
This made her lean forward, and her grandfather tilted his head as the officer focused on Bianca. “I heard from a partner that you were shopping around with a boy last night, and I think I can assume that Ash here was that boy?”
At her confirmation, he continued with a nod, “While that already seems out of character for you-” She repressed a flush at the comment. “-it was what you were reportedly shopping for that particularly caught my interest. Were you looking for traveling accessories for Trainer Ash, or yourself?”
She frowned at the odd question. As far as she knew, she wasn’t in any trouble with the law. Thus. could go anywhere she damn well pleased.
Glancing at her grandfather, Bianca opened her mouth to reply when Ash exclaimed, “Those are for her! We’re gonna go traveling together, and we wanted to make sure she has everything she needs.”
Bianca was just able to prevent herself from shooting a glare his way, annoyed he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. ‘Has this guy never learned to read a room?’
Officer Lospio stared at them for a moment before slowly nodding. “I see. I must say, I’m mildly surprised to hear that. Naturally, we’ve had countless people coming and going, but truthfully, I don’t think any of us expected the caretakers of the museum to be among that number, especially long term.”
“I suppose we haven’t really given any reason to believe we would be wandering off,” her grandfather rumbled in thought as Bianca conceded the point. The museum was a busy place, and while it didn’t need to be tended to every minute, it wasn’t something that both of them could leave behind for extended periods of time, even with the assistants.
Officer Lospio inclined his head in agreement. “Indeed, you can see why we were mildly surprised, then…or has the little painter run out of sights to see here?” Although his tone was only moderately teasing, she couldn’t detect any true mocking intent.
His comment hit a little close to home, making Bianca cough into her fist awkwardly. “I guess you could say that,” she mumbled, shuffling her feet.
He merely nodded, adjusting his cover. “I suppose there are only so many canals to see before they all look the same. Not like the horizon will be changing anytime soon, either.”
Lorenzo chuckled at that, crossing his arms. “You’d be amazed, officer. Just last year, I managed to catch a glimpse of the green flash as I was out by the edges of the city,”
“Yeah, rub it in, why don’t you,” Bianca pouted as she sniffed. The green flash was an incredibly rare sight to behold; you had to be in the right place at the right time, assuming it was going to happen at all. Completely invisible to those anywhere except the very western edge of the city, and it came and went before anyone could so much as say, “Look over there!”
And she missed it. A potentially gorgeous painting, unmade because she wasn’t fortunate enough to see the sight itself.
She was brought back to the real world when she heard Officer Lospio let out a small noise of amusement. “Yes, I suppose that must have been quite a view. I have yet to see one myself, although I spend most of my time indoors, so that is my own fault. That being said,” he suddenly lost what little positive tone he had and turned serious. “I hope that wherever you find yourself, you are safe. Some areas in the world are best left alone. May I inquire as to your destination?”
“Uh, Galar,” she admitted, unsure if the region qualified as “best left alone”, hoping it wasn’t too bad.
“Hm, interesting choice. And a far one,” the officer muttered thoughtfully. “I can’t say as I’ve been there personally, but I’ve heard it is nice. You are also more likely to be trampled by Pokemon there than running into any organized gangs, at any rate. So,” he said as he turned towards Ash with a formidable stare, “I expect you to do what you can to ensure that doesn’t happen. Shouldn't be too difficult for a trainer of your caliber.”
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ Bianca wondered as she also glanced at the now embarrassed Ash.
“Er, right. I won’t let you down!” The trainer awkwardly reassured them, while Pikachu just face-palmed and shook his head.
If Ash was some elite trainer or something, then how did Offer Lospio know about it, but not her? ‘I’m the only one from the city that actually talks to him, so what’s the deal?’ She slightly narrowed her eyes, but resolved to ask about it later.
The officer gave a small nod. “See that you don’t,” he returned flatly before turning back to Bianca. “Well, I do not wish to keep you, and it’s time I head off myself. Reports don’t write themselves, after all. Safe travels to you both.”
He tipped his cover to Lorenzo before turning and swiftly leaving. Lorenzo sighed and shut the door, shaking his head as he faced them. “Why must the police be so interested in our affairs? I swear to Kyogre, no one else is as monitored as we are in this city.”
Ash cocked his head to the side, Pikachu mirroring his movement as his trainer asked, “Is it because of the DMA incident? Maybe they’re just trying to keep you safe.”
“If that was the case, youngin, I wouldn’t mind so much. But this has been going on longer than that, I’m afraid. It’s just only gotten more noticeable since then,” her grandfather replied tiredly, making her frown.
“I hadn’t noticed….” She trailed off, trying to think.
“With you being practically glued to your canvases, I can hardly blame you for it,” came his teasing jab, a fact Bianca couldn’t really refute.
Shrugging, she glanced back at her rucksack as Ash asked thoughtfully, “Do you think they know anything about Latias and Latios, then?”
Bianca balked at the thought, picking up the rucksack and testing its heft, finding it to be acceptable.
“No, I…. Hm,” Lorenzo began, before stopping and considering the point with squinted eyes. “I…don’t think so,” he carefully supplied, rubbing his chin. “At least, none of them have asked about the twins, even with their watchful eyes. But, if they are trying to locate them, I can’t imagine why they don’t just ask. Not like we’d tell the truth, but still.”
“I guess you’re lucky that the Secret Garden is connected to your house,” Ash said as she began securing her art bag to the back of her rucksack, only for him to stop and turn as her grandfather chuckled.
“That’s more by design than luck, actually,” Lorenzo corrected with a smile. “You see-”
‘This house was designed specifically to look as unassuming as possible,’ came the psychic voice of Latios as both him and Latias came floating in from the back. ‘The more boring it is, the less likely people will guess we’re connected to it.’
Latias grumbled as Lorenzo grumbled, “It’s not that boring.”
‘Oh, please, if it was any more average looking, people would assume it was mass-produced. Fortunately, that’s the point,’ came the retort from Latios, who gently shoved his sister away as she attempted to sneak up on him from behind.
“Hmph. Upstart brat,” Lorenzo joked before silence filled the living room. Both of the twins turned to face Bianca and Ash, their draconic faces conveying a somber acceptance. “Well,” she started as she shuffled her feet, “I guess this is goodbye, for now.”
‘Yes,’ Latios murmured as he moved forward and gently butted her face with his own. ‘Thank you for helping to care for me and my sister, even though we more than often had to do the same for you.’
Bianca giggled, fighting back tears as she nodded. “How could I not? We’re best friends, after all.”
Latios dipped his head before awkwardly hugging her. She squeezed him tight enough to make him wince before he slowly pulled back and turned to Ash. ‘And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you. First, I want to thank you again for what you’ve done. Both for the city, and my family. You have my eternal gratitude. Secondly,” the dragon continued, his voice taking on a harsher tone, “you take good care of Bianca, you hear me? Whatever she needs, you’re all she’s got out there. Whether as a trainer, a friend, or…more.’
Bianca stifled a groan even as Ash nodded seriously, apparently not picking up on the insinuation. “Don’t worry, I will. This won’t be the first time I’ve helped out someone on their first journey, although it will be the first time I’m doing it alone. Still, I’ll do my best! I promise!” He finished confidently, earning a satisfied nod from Latios.
‘Good. Because if you don’t….Well, I can fly faster than most planes. It won’t take me more than a week to find you.’ His threat, despite being undefined, hung in the air as Latios retreated, allowing his sister to take his place.
‘I’m gonna come with you up until the docks,’ the dragoness started, looking between them. ‘But I wanted to get this out of the way first.’ She immediately glomped onto Bianca and hugged her tightly, making her smile as she reciprocated with a fond giggle. ‘I’m gonna miss you, Bi. I’ve got an idea to help with the distance, but uh…don’t know if it’s gonna work.’
Bianca shot her a curious look as she pulled back, opening her mouth to ask what the idea was, only for the red dragoness to rush past and hug Ash. ‘Ignore the grumpy pants. He’s more thankful than he lets on, and he knows you won’t do anything to intentionally harm Bianca. He just wants to be tough and give the ‘big brother talk’.’
‘Oi!’ Latios protested, only for Latias to ignore him as she released Ash.
Seeing this, Lorenzo clapped his hands together and gruffly asked, “All ready to go?”
Bianca nodded as she heaved her rucksack and its attachment onto her back, grimacing at the weight. It would not be fun adapting to the load, but she’d manage. Hopefully.
“Alright, let’s go!” Ash cheered, making the residents snort as Latias’ form shimmered, light fading to reveal Bianca’s carbon copy…except for the hair.
“What’s with the length?” Bianca questioned, staring at the long, swaying locks that hung down to “her” lower back.
Latias placed a hand on her hip and flicked her hair with the other, striking a pose. “What, don’t like it? Thought we could change things up a bit before you leave so people don’t ask questions.”
“Not looking like that, you’re not,” Bianca snorted. “Makes me look awful. At least change the hair color or something. And do something about the face, it’s too similar.”
Latias’ form shimmered again, the brown changing to a scarlet red, matching her dragon form. Similarly, her face slightly slimmed down, and Latias swirled in place. ‘How about now?’
“Wow, you’re pretty!” Ash exclaimed, making Latias giggle.
Bianca let out a semi-offended snort. “Gee, thanks.”
Lorenzo and Latios shook their heads, the old man muttering, “Boys these days….”
Latios merely complained, ‘Do you need to do this now? I already said goodbye. This just makes it feel awkward now.’
Ignoring them, she squinted at her friend. “Hm…. Not bad. Might want to change those eyes, though. Doesn’t really match up.”
Latias obeyed, and brown was once more replaced, this time with Latias’ signature honey-gold. She flashed them a smile as Bianca nodded approvingly. “Good, much better. Now you can terrorize people with your own body instead of getting into trouble with my own.”
Latias stuck her tongue out as the pair began heading out the door, Ash following closely behind. Lorenzo swirled his keys as he called out behind them, “Hold down the fort while I’m gone.” He then closed the door behind himself, marking the last time Bianca would see the dragon for a long while.
----------------------------------------
Bianca’s stomach clenched tighter and tighter the closer they got to the docks. Talking with Ash and her grandfather helped, along with the presence of her best friend, but it wasn’t nearly enough to ease her nerves.
‘I could turn around right now, and no one would blame me,’ her gut seemed to say, sounding rather convincing as the smell of the sea became crisper.
Unfortunately for the voice, she was forcing her legs to keep moving. No one except myself, she thought, taking a deep breath as she strengthened her resolve. She did not shy away from protecting the Garden and would not shy away now. Not when there were so many things to see.
Finally, they came to a stop before a closed-top boat, slightly bigger than the ones that could be seen cruising through the canals once in a while. Sitting next to the wheel was who she presumed to be their “captain”, a middle-aged man with a healthy tan and a mustache to rival her grandfather’s.
From the corner of her eye, she could see that he noticed, scowling as he stroked his own stache. Her trepidation was forgotten as she exchanged glances with Latias, and they both broke into a fit of giggles at the one-sided square-off.
Upon seeing their approach, the man stood up from where he was sitting and stretched, calling out to them a moment later, “I presume you are Lorenzo and the passengers I will be taking?”
Seemingly getting over the differences in facial hair, Lorenzo nodded and clapped his hands onto her and Ash’s shoulders, almost knocking Pikachu off of the trainer as he replied, “I am Lorenzo, yes. These two will be joining you.”
The man cast them a quick glance and a smile. “Understood. You’re earlier than I expected, but if you’d like, we can depart now.”
“Thank you, but…let me say goodbye first, please,” she asked, looking towards him as knots formed in her stomach. The man bowed his head in understanding and turned away to give them a moment of relative privacy.
The four individuals stood there for a moment before she launched forward and hugged Latias, feeling her friend wrap her arms around her in return. They traded no audible words, instead talking in their minds.
“I’m gonna miss you so much,” Bianca said, feeling as though her words undercut how much she meant it.
‘I know, Bi. I’m gonna miss you lots, too,’ Latias replied with a melancholic voice. ‘But look on the bright side; you get to travel with a cute boy-ow!’
The dragoness squealed as Bianca grabbed and pulled her ear before snorting back a reply, “That’s enough out of you. Quit ruining the moment.”
Her grandfather and Ash had been shaking hands when the two embraced, only to look over at the yelp of pain.
“Sisters through and through,” Lorenzo chuckled as he shook his head while Ashsmiled ruefully. “Yeah….”
Bianca rolled her eyes, only to sigh a moment later. “How long do you think it’ll be until we see each other again?”
Latias pulled back and gave her a wink. ‘Who’s to say?’
Blinking in confusion at the reply, she opened her mouth to question it when Latias suddenly let go and zoomed over to Ash, giving the unsuspecting trainer a hug that finally managed to dislodge Pikachu.
Caught between wanting to laugh at the stink-eye the mouse gave the pair and pushing the issue with Latias, Bianca didn’t see her grandfather reach out and capture her in what felt like a bone-breaking hug.
Catching her bearings, she relaxed and returned the gesture, trying and failing to blink away the tears that gathered at the corners of her eyes. This man had raised her by himself after her parents had passed without complaint, and his efforts would never go unappreciated by her.
And now she had to come to terms with the fact that she was heading out into the world without his care and guidance, relying solely on a boy she had met once mere months prior. Was this how Ash felt when he left his own home for the first time?
Her fingers curled into his shirt as she buried her face in her grandfather's shoulder. “Grandpa, I-I’m not sure I can do this,” Bianca whispered, the implications of her decision finally catching up to her. The fears she had been pushing to the side were now making a comeback in the form of fingers that clawed at her insides with a vengeance.
Yet, just as quickly, the feeling faded as Lorenzo pulled back and stared reassuringly at her, her previous confidence gradually taking its place. “I think you and I both know you can. You are a courageous young lady, a trait you inherited from your mother. I don’t know if either of you have backed down from a challenge, for better or worse.”
She ducked her head at that, feeling as though it was his not-so-subtle reminder of her actions all those months ago. She looked back up as he continued, “You are also quite headstrong, and you don’t take any nonsense from anyone. You got that from your father. Both of your parents passed on the very best of themselves to their daughter, including a strong sense of self-determination. If you do not want to go out into the world, I will never make you do so. But never believe for a moment that you can’t.”
Her doubts and fears began ebbing back as she listened, the thought of still having the choice somehow making her feel better about going through with this adventure.
“Is this some sort of reverse psychology ploy to try and get me to go?” She shakily joked as she stepped back, her comment making him bellow out a laugh.
“Well, maybe, maybe not,” came his reply, making her roll her eyes before he glanced towards Ash and Latias and lowered his voice as he continued, “but as much as I’d love to ensure your safety by you staying, I hope you don’t come back too soon. It’s not just terrain you’ll have to contend with.”
Bianca sighed as she nodded, also taking a look back at the trainer as he talked with her best friend, understanding where he was getting at. “You think it’s possible we’ll have a falling out while on the road or something?”
Lorenzo snorted as he clapped a hand on her shoulder. “I assure you, it’s almost inevitable there will be bickering. Do you know how often your grandmother and I fought, even over ridiculous things?”
Ignoring the not-so-subtle insinuation, she nodded with pursed lips. “Yeah… I hope it won’t be a common occurrence, though.”
“As long as you both come from a place of understanding, I’m sure everything will work out,” he assured her as he gently squeezed her shoulder. “Now, I do believe we’ve kept the man waiting long enough, not to mention Ash barely managed to secure another ticket for you. It would be an awful waste of money if you missed it.”
As one, they turned to face the boat just as Latias and Ash finished their own conversation, the trainer grinning at her as he asked, “You ready?”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
Bianca hesitated for a moment before stealing her resolve and giving him a single, firm nod. “Yes,” she replied, and stepped forward even as he launched himself forward into the vessel, alarming the driver.
“Careful there, my good man, I would hate for you to be soaked the entire ride, eh?” The man laughed good-naturedly, with Ash nodding seriously as he took his seat.
“I’m sorry, sir, I’ll be more careful.”
His reply mildly took her off guard, and she mentally applauded the maturity of it as she followed behind, albeit with more caution, and sat across from him.
Although I’m not really sure why I’m surprised, Bianca mused as she hugged her pack close to her body. I doubt we’d still be here if he was a numbskull…more of a numbskull than he currently was, anyway.
Once she was settled into her seat, she looked towards her grandfather and best friend. There was sadness in their eyes, but also affection and pride as they smiled at her. She raised her hand and called out, “I’ll make sure to contact you as soon as I can in Galar. Or at least, the Pokemon center.”
Her grandfather nodded in approval. “I’m glad. If the Pokemon Centers are anything like the ones here and in Johto, you should be able to connect to the Center here. I know our Joy will pass on anything to me or your friends if I’m otherwise unavailable.”
Bianca nodded, knowing that “friends” was code for “the twins”.
Although they really are my friends. So, is it really even a code?
Shaking off the thought, she nodded firmly. “Understood. Hopefully it won’t be too late when we land, either for you or us.”
“If you don’t hurry along, you’ll be too late to catch your flight!” he half-joked, before adding in a more serious tone, “I love you, Bianca. Stay safe.”
Tears once more stung at her eyes as she replied in a wobbly voice, “I will, and I love you too.”
With that, the driver unfastened the lines from the chocks and began winding it up and stowing it in a compartment under his seat, before sitting upon it and gently pushing forward on the throttle. With the hum of the engine, the boat gradually accelerated away from the docks, and away from her family, until they were but a couple of silhouettes in the distance.
Swallowing the lump in her throat she finally faced forward, fearing she might lose it again if she watched her home fade away.
As she did, the boat sped along, faster than Bianca expected. She tightened her grip on her pack as a result; the last thing she wanted was for it to fly off the boat and be left with nothing except the clothes on her back and a poor reputation with Ash.
Taking the time to glance at the trainer in question, Bianca could see he had relaxed save of the eager expression he wore. Even when the occasional bump came along, he was entirely unfazed, choosing to stare forward intently as the rapidly growing coastline.
Despite their journey having barely started, if this could be counted as such, the sight of his confidence and self-assuredness was starting to make her glad she didn’t decline his offer. If this had been his first or even second journey, she might not have trusted that kind of confidence. Kyogre knew how many times she thought she could master an art technique, only to be completely humbled the moment she attempted it.
Ash, on the other hand…
“Hey, er….” She began, catching his attention as he turned to her.
“What’s up?” He questioned as both him and Pikachu stared curiously at her.
Coughing awkwardly into her fist, she began again, “How…how many times have you done this? Traveling to other regions, I mean.”
“Hmm,” Ash mused as he looked up at the sky in thought. “Well, there was Kanto, my first journey…I guess the Orange Islands, but I’m not sure if I should count that.”
Bianca had no idea what the Orange Islands were, but she didn’t interrupt as she let him continue.
“Then Johto, then Hoenn… I think Sinnoh was after that, and then it was Unova, after Kalos after that. Then Alola, and now Galar! So that’s like…seven or eight different journeys, before this one.”
Bianca’s jaw dropped before she quickly spluttered, “Seven or eight?! And you started when you were…ten, I think it is?”
“Yup” He replied with a smile as he scratched behind Pikachu’s ear. “Did the League in all of them too, although the Orange Islands had a really small League.”
“Really? How’d you do in them?” She asked curiously, trying to determine how far he might get in Galar’s League. Although I’m not sure how any of the Leagues work, so how would I know?
Then, she thought back to what the officer said to him back at the house. “Wait, is that how people know you? You must have done pretty good, then.”
Laughing nervously, he rubbed the back of his neck, looking rueful as he replied, “Well, my first League, I didn’t do too well. Got in the top sixteen, and got disqualified because my Charizard wouldn’t obey me.”
A pang of pity shot through her as she winced. “Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But top sixteen isn’t too bad with a disobedient Pokemon, is it?”
“I guess not,” Ash replied thoughtfully, brightening up a moment later. “But did a lot better in the Orange Islands, and even got Charizard to listen to me. I won that League, although it was a rather small one.”
Surprised, she leaned back. “Wow, that’s…that’s pretty good, even if it was small. So you’re…what, Champion of the Orange Islands?”
That got a small laugh from him before he replied, “Something like that? It wasn’t an official event, more of a local one. And I didn’t do as well in the Silver Conference. Only got into the top eight.”
“Top eight?” Bianca choked out, staring at him with wide eyes. “And what do you mean by ‘only’ top eight? That’s a crazy achievement, even if you didn’t win! I don’t know much about Pokemon battling, but even a toddler knows that a ranking that high is a big deal. That’s out of the whole region, after all.”
Ash ducked his head with an expression of embarrassment, while Pikachu snickered next to him looking smug. “Er, yeah, I guess we did do a little better than the Indigo League…. Didn’t improve in the Ever Grande Conference, unfortunately. Top eight again. But we managed to get into the top four in the Lily of the Valley conference in Sinnoh!”
All she could do was stare at him in disbelief as he started listing off his accomplishments. From the moment she saw him, she could tell that he was a Pokemon trainer. His confidence, his attire, and of course his Pikachu. But to think he was this accomplished….What surprised her most of all was how…humble he was about it. He hadn’t mentioned any of these Leagues before apart from Sinnoh’s, nor his placements in each until she asked him. And now that he was, he highlighted his Pokemons’ abilities rather than his own.
Top four in Sinnoh, top eight in Unova… not to mention, runner up in Kalos!
“You almost won?” Bianca managed to squeak out, prompting him to grin fondly off to the side.
“Yeah, Alain’s Mega Charizard was crazy strong! Greninja came close, but that Charizard….”
As he trailed off, Bianca frowned in confusion. She wasn’t well versed in the starters, but…
“Greninja? That’s not a Kanto Pokemon, is it?”
Ash shook his head. “Nope! I caught Greninja in Kalos when he was just a Froakie. I actually caught all my Pokemon in Kalos for that region, except for Pikachu of course.”
“You…caught a fresh team for Kalos?” It felt like every sentence out of his mouth upset her view of his career. How did one almost win the League of a region they weren’t even native to, with a team caught in such a short amount of time? “Wait, did you have a fresh team for every region you’ve been to?”
“Yeah, I figured it would be unfair to use trained Pokemon for a new region, ya know? Too strong,”Ash chuckled as he stroked Pikachu, while the mouse looked up at him with a knowing grin.
“Pika.”
“Er, that too,” the trainer said as he ducked his head bashfully.
“...What?” Bianca questioned, wondering if she just witnessed Ash actually understanding a Pokemon’s words.
Having misunderstood her confusion, Ash ruefully grinned as he confessed, “I may or may not have used Charizard at the beginning of my Johto adventures, and Misty and Brock really laid into me about it.”
Bianca put aside the mystery of their communication and frowned at this tidbit. “Really? I didn’t think there would be anything wrong with using trained Pokemon.”
“It’s not against the rules, but like I said, it’s really unfair, at least against new trainers. I met one, and Charizard kinda beat all of hers,” he replied guiltily as she nodded, before she thought of something else.
“Well, what about Pikachu? You use him for every region, don’t you?” Bianca pointed out, curious to hear his reasoning.
“Pikachu holds back depending on our opponent,” came his response, along with a haughty look from the rodent. “He doesn’t really like doing it, but he knows it wouldn’t be much of a win if he went all out against everyone. Plus, we don’t want to make new trainers give up before they even begin.”
From anyone else, Bianca would have assumed they were full of themselves. However, hearing all of his accomplishments and seeing his compassion first hand, she genuinely believed his intentions were honest and legitimate. How she hasn’t heard of him before now was…probably a sign she should have set out and touched grass sooner.
That being said, she was still curious about his latest excursion. “And Alola? Did you-”
“Sir, Madam! We’ll be arriving shortly!” The driver interrupted, interrupting Bianca’s question and consequently her thoughts, momentarily forgetting what she was saying as Goldenrod City came into full view. The shining city captured her attention, its buildings towering over everything around them. She subconsciously pushed the question aside for later as she took it all in.
“Wow,” she muttered as she stared ahead, seeing the city for the first time in her life. If it weren’t for the seaspray, she’d do her best to whip out a sketch at the minimum, feeling a tinge of her passion singing to her.
“Goldenrod City! Man, I forgot how big it was!” Came Ash’s exclamation as he grinned. “Last time I was here, I was in a radio show.”
“Sorry, a radio show?” Bianca questioned, squinting at him.
“Uh, yeah, heh heh,” he laughed awkwardly.
Guess it must have been too embarrassing, she thought with some amusement. He should be glad he didn’t mention that to either of the twins. Latias wouldn’t let him hear the end of it.
“Anything else?” she questioned as they turned around a jut of land, the docks coming into view as they approached.
“Well, before that, there was the gym battle. Took a couple of tries…Whitney’s Miltank is terrifying,” Ash muttered, a haunted look in his eyes.
“You’ve really never had a good time in this city, have you?” Bianca snorted, causing him to fidget in place.
“I mean, it’s not that bad, we still got the badge in the end,” he replied defensively, straightening up a moment later with a confident look. “Besides, we’re only passing through this time. Surely it can’t be that bad.”
That got a sigh out of her as she blew air out from her mouth. “Well, let’s hope you didn’t just jinx us.”
As she said this, the boat approached the docks, the driver cutting the throttle back as the two prepared to depart.
A few short minutes later, they were grabbing their stuff and rather unsteadily making their way onto the docks. Fortunately for Bianca, she had experience with climbing in and out of boats. Ash, on the other hand, didn’t seem to share this trait.
“Thank you so much for the ride, mister!” he called as he clambered out of the boat, nearly ace-planting on the dock, making Pikachu snicker. He straightened up, unbothered by the close call, and waved at the driver as the man chuckled and returned the gesture before turning the boat and cruising away, following the coast.
Bianca shook her head as she sighed, putting her hands on her hips. “You know, Ash, this journey will be a lot safer for you if you just watch your step,” she commented with a small smile, watching him laugh sheepishly before his demeanor changed, staring forward with sparkling eyes. “Wow, I haven’t been here in a long time….Welcome to Goldenrod City, I guess.”
Bianca turned and was immediately blown away by what she saw, feeling her jaw slowly drop. If the city square in Alto Mare was busy, this was ten times that without effort, and that was just what she could see. The number of people in the bustling city justified the massive buildings, some of whose tops looked as though they were doing their best to touch the clouds and beyond. Despite having seen the structures well before making landfall, it didn’t do the city justice in the slightest.
“It’s quite…crowded. More than I thought it’d be, at least,” she muttered, feeling lost. “Will we make our flight?”
“Yup, I made sure of it,” came Ash’s reply as he stood at her side. “We’ve got plenty of time. A few hours, at least. I think.”
He thinks. Great. I guess that means no exploring in the meantime, if we’re on such a tight schedule.
Nonetheless, she pursed her lips as she brought her belongings close to her. She really hoped they wouldn’t be damaged on the way, or stolen for that matter. What was the crime rate in Goldenrod City?
“Well…what now, Mister Adventurer? How do we get to the airport?” She finally asked as she turned to him, doing her best to push aside the thought of her art mediums and brand new gear being trampled or taken.
“Uhh…” came his reply, and she turned with disbelief to see him looking confused and scratching his head.
Don’t tell me, she thought as she hesitantly asked, “You…you do know your way to the airport, right?”
Ash looked around for a few seconds before nodding confidently and began strutting along the docks, only to get zapped by Pikachu a moment later.
“Pika-pi Pika!” The mouse tapped his trainer’s head and pointed off to the side. Bianca and Ash followed his tiny arm to a building with large, friendly letters above the doors:
“Goldenrod’s Guide to Not Getting Lost.”
What kind of name was that?
Well, that works, she thought as she gave the mouse an approving nod. “Good eye.”
As Pikachu preened, she began walking towards the shop, Ash following just behind her. Fortunately, there was a lull in the amount of people passing by, leaving a relatively clear path.
The inside of the shop was a different story, as there were far more people than she would have liked jam-packed next to each other.
“How many tourists are there in this city?” Bianca muttered in annoyance before turning to Ash. “Could you try to find a map there? I’ll watch our- er, my stuff,” she asked, to which he grinned and nodded.
“Sure thing! I’ll be just a minute,” he declared, marching in through the throng of people with a swagger that made her snort in amusement. Almost an adult, but somehow acts half his age sometimes. I can’t even begin to imagine how he must have been when he was younger, she mused, idly tapping her foot as she waited.
Still, he seems to have a solid head on his shoulders-
“Got it!”
Bianca jumped as his voice sounded from right next to her, her items almost tipping over as she bumped into them.
“Holy-! Don’t scare me like that!” She chided as her heart rate spiked, putting a hand over her chest in an effort to calm it.
“Er, sorry,” Ash replied with an apologetic tone, making her ease up with a sigh as she looked down at her belongings to hide her flustered expression. So much for a solid head, she snorted to herself as she straightened up. At least he has the decency to apologize.
“Don’t worry about it, I should have been paying more attention anyway,” Bianca waved her hand, eager to move past the incident as she turned his way. “Did I hear you correctly? You got a map-…er, why do you have a towel?”
Indeed, he had a towel draped around his shoulders, a wholly unremarkable thing that Ash for some reason seemed proud of.
“The guy behind the counter gave it to me, said it was complementary?” He replied in a confused voice that didn’t reduce her own bewilderment in the slightest.
“He just gave you a towel for free? Did he give anyone else a towel? Is this what he does?” Bianca questioned as she looked closer at the people leaving the store…only to frown at the sight before her.
Upon closer inspection, some people were not just leaving the store with a towel, but entering it with one as well, often with more goods such as toiletries and whatnot.
A rather bizarre sight that she didn’t know how to process, thus she shook her head and sighed, “You know what? Nevermind, I don’t want to know. Did you at least get a map?”
Her reply was Pikachu snatching a rather thick brochure from Ash’s raised hand and jumping over to her shoulder, the trainer giving him an affronted look. “Hey, I was perfectly-”
“Thank you again, Pikachu,” she interrupted, scratching under his chin with a smile before taking the brochure, almost missing the smug look the mouse shot at his trainer. She bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing as Ash muttered something about disobedient Pokemon, and inspected the front of the brochure.
At the top of it, written in the same large and friendly font as the store’s sign, were the words “Don’t Panic:Your Hitchhiker’s Guide to Goldenrod City.”
Below that lay a rather charming picture- no, a painting of Goldenrod City in all of its splendor, light glinting off the carefully hued skyscrapers. A very impressive work that easily rivaled her own, filling her with a desire to achieve this level of detail.
One day, she promised to herself.
Further below the painting at the bottom of the page was another text box, again written in the same font: “Become a frood that really knows where his/her towel is!”
She squinted in confusion. What the hell is a frood?
Opening the brochure, the first thing Bianca noticed was the city's layout. As she unfolded it further, more and more of the city was revealed, and she quickly found herself struggling. The reason for the brochure's thickness became increasingly apparent.
“Can you give me a hand here?” she grunted to Ash, who quickly obliged, taking hold of one side.
Giving him a quick nod of thanks, Bianca finished unfurling the entire brochure, taking a moment to appreciate what was yet another work of art. Though the art style was different, it was no less incredible how much effort had been put into it. Every building, street, and even the lettering were painstakingly hand-drawn, color-coded according to the services each provided. Bianca couldn’t fathom why someone would invest so much time into painting something for a mere brochure, but it was clear they took it seriously.
She allowed herself another moment to admire the dedication before tracing the map with her finger, following the landmarks. “Let’s see, we landed at the docks right around here, which means…” she trailed off, straightening up a moment later with a satisfied hum. “Ah, here we are. Just across the street. And as for the airport, that would be…there!” She crowed in satisfaction as she found their destination, though it appeared to be quite far from their current location.
“That’s basically on the other side of the city! There’s no way we could make it that far, especially not with all our supplies, right?” Bianca asked, looking up at Ash with concern. Meeting her eyes, the trainer bit his lip in thought, then turned to survey their surroundings.
“Uh, probably not,” he finally concluded, sounding worried now. “Not with all these people, at least.”
“Awesome,” she muttered as she let go of the map with one hand, pinching the bridge of her nose. She dropped her portion of the map with a sigh, looking back to her new travel companion. “Is there a taxi or something we could get? Some way for us to not have to hoof it all the way across the city?”
He immediately perked up with a grin, confidence seemingly renewed. “Yeah, that could work! Good thinking!” He turned towards the street, threw out a hand, and yelled out “Taxi!” in a loud voice. He hadn’t even noticed that he accidentally dropped the brochure in the process.
“Ash, a taxi isn’t going to–” Bianca began, irritated at his careless attempt to hail a cab, before the sharp screeching of tires pulled her attention back to the road. The obnoxiously bright yellow vehicle barreled toward them, all the while multiple people around them uttering what might have been curses as they quickly moved out of the way. She yelped and instinctively jumped back as well, the brochure forgotten as she did her best to not become the world’s flattest artist. “–hear you… Never mind.”
Fortunately, the car that she quickly realized was, in fact, a taxi came to a halt in front of Ash. The sound it made was comparable to that of nails scraping on a chalkboard in conjunction with a rather alarming amount of bangs.
The two of them stood there staring at the cab trying their best to calm their rapidly beating hearts. Bianca briefly spotted the words “Magma Metro” before the passenger door and trunk swung open, seemingly on their own.
The two warily turned towards each other, Ash looking just as rattled as she felt.They only looked away when someone called out, “Looks like they found the defect!”
There were more than a few laughs at that as the people that had stopped to watch for a moment began to go on their way again.. This left Bianca confused rather than irritated at their amusement.
“Defect?” She asked aloud, only to jump as a semi-distorted voice sounded from the taxi.
“Greetings! Please avoid using the word ‘defect’ when describing me! I am a perfectly functioning People and Pokemon Transportation Vehicle, or PPTV for short!”
Wait, what?
“You said you’re-”
“A People and Pokemon Transportation Vehicle, yes! PPTV for short. I am a self-driving vehicle designed by Magma Corps to better assist People and Pokemon in their transportation needs.”
That’s…okay. What kind of corporation named “Magma” runs a transportation company?
“Wow, a talking car! That’s so cool!” Ash cheered, already over his brush with death.
“Alright, er, People and Pokemon Transportation Vehicle-”
“PPTV for short!” its chipper, robotic voice cut in.
“Right, uh, can you get us to the airport please? We’re in somewhat of a rush-”
“Are you sure,” the car began in a quieter voice, “that you want to go to the airport?”
“What?” She asked, confused. What kind of question was that? “Of course we want to go to the airport, we have to catch our flight-”
“Why not drive to your next location with your nearest People and Pokemon Transportation Vehicle? PPTV-”
“For short, yes,” she interrupted before continuing, “and we really do need to get to the airport, unless you can fly us to Galar?”
There was a brief pause before the car replied in an even quieter voice, “I cannot fly. Please feel free to use me to get to the airport.”
“Great, thank you,” Bianca responded with a shake of her head, electing to ignore the clear disdain the vehicle had for any transportation outside of itself. She did her best to crumple up the brochure–there was no way she was going to bother folding it at the moment– and shoved it into a random pocket of her luggage.As she began pulling her things towards the trunk, she noticed a thoughtful look on Ash’s face as he stared at the currently silent car.
“Hey, League Wonder. Either help me with my luggage, or get in the car,” she snorted, making him jump.
“Oh, sorry!” He apologized as he moved to help her, the two taking no time at all to get her belongings packed before firmly closing the trunk.
“Well, that’s that, now let’s get going,” Bianca muttered as she walked over to the open door and crawled in, sitting on the far side and buckling her seat belt. As Pikachu and Ash climbed in after her, she took a glance towards the driver’s seat, curious to see what was in place of a person.
Surprisingly, there was a robot of sorts, painted in a reddish-orange hue, with vaguely human proportions. Its head then turned almost completely around and stared at them, making her violently uncomfortable.
“Greetings. I will now take you to the airport.” The robot sounded far more drab than it did previously. The door closed suddenly. “Please buckle your seatbelts if you haven’t already.” Its head snapped forward as its foot slammed on the gas pedal. Bianca could only frown.
“Uh, is that-OH KYOGRE, HELP ME!” She swung her arms wildly in fear and latched her hands onto whatever she could.
“Owww…. Bianca…” A wheezing interrupted her thoughts, turning to see Ash teary-eyed , which prompted her to look down. She had, unintentionally, grabbed and squeezed his knee with every ounce of force her fear could grant her. She immediately let go, apologizing profusely.
“Oh my! I am so sorry, Ash! I didn’t mean to do that!”
“No no, it’s-it’s fine,” he whimpered, gently massaging the joint. He threw a wholeheartedly reproachful look at Pikachu as the mouse snickered at his misfortune.
“Are you sure? That didn’t seem like it felt good,” she replied guiltily, mentally chiding herself for her outburst. Absolute idiot, I shouldn’t have flailed like that, even if this robot is driving like a maniac.
Ash gave her a small chuckle and grinned. “Yeah, I was just surprised, that's all. That felt stronger than some of my Pokemon’s moves!”
“I’ll take the compliment where I can get it.” Bianca hissed through clenched teeth as their driver blitzed past other vehicles, missing some by sheer miracle alone. One swerve led her face being pressed against the glass before her entire body jerked the other way. The only thing preventing her from slamming into Ash was her seatbelt.
The trainer in question was also having a hard time. He had a hold of Pikachu to prevent the mouse from being bounced around the interior like a ping pong ball. The Pokemon did not look at all pleased, his cheeks beginning to spark, much to her alarm.
“Pikachu, please don’t electrocute us all,” Bianca begged as she clung to the roof handle like it was a lifeline. “It might make this guy- robot- drive worse.”
As the mouse reluctantly calmed down, the robot’s head once more spun around to face her, chastising her while clearly not watching the road ahead of them. “I take great offense to that. I’ll happen to let you know I have improved greatly!”
Without taking its eyes off of her, the robot performed a near perfect swerve around a car, and continued as though nothing happened. “My creators ensured I would get to any destination their clients need to be at their scheduled time in a safe and timely manner.”
“You call this safe?!” Bianca spluttered as their car blitzed through the streets, the honking of drivers fading behind them with every intersection. “How have we not crashed?!”
“It’s quite simple. We have arrived at your destination.”
“Wait, what–?!” Before she could finish her thought, the car slammed to a halt. All three passengers slammed into the cushioned seats in front of them and they heard the rather alarming sound of her pack hitting the front of the trunk.
As Bianca peeled her face off of the seat in front of her, seething all the while, the robot cheerfully announced, “Welcome to Goldenrod Airport. How would you like to pay for your ride?”
“How about my foot up your-”
“Here.” Ash pushed a card forward, the robot grabbing it and inserting it into the center console. A second later and it beeped pleasantly, the robot handing the card back to the trainer.
“Thank you! Please ensure you take all of your belongings, as Magma Corporation is not responsible for the loss of personal items due to negligence.”
Bianca glared at the robot as she unbuckled her seatbelt, rubbing her forehead to nurse the already-forming bruise from her impact with the seat..
“If you have enjoyed your ride with your People and Pokemon Transportation Vehicle, why not recommend us to your friends?”
“Because I want to keep them,” she snapped before flinging the door open and leaving the vehicle in a hurry. Ash and Pikachu quickly followed suit, and the three of them made their way to the back of the car to grab her pack from the trunk.
Fortunately, it seemed nothing had been damaged, although she’d have to sit down and make sure when they had the chance.
Speaking of…
“When does our flight leave, again?” Bianca slammed the trunk with more force than was necessary, grumbling under her breath.
Ash scratched his head and looked around. “Uhh..not sure. We should probably get your stuff checked in, though. We might need to hurry.”
She nodded and upon hearing the car peel away from the curb, gave it one last scowl before sighing. “Right, well, let’s get on with it. Hopefully that maniac gave us some breathing room.”
“Yeah…” Ash trailed off thoughtfully. He took a glance back at where the car had left them. His tone piqued her curiosity, and she decided to prod him in the hope to find out more.
“You ever seen anything like that before? You kinda seem like you recognize it or something,” Bianca asked as they walked into the airport, relaxing at the cool air the AC provided.
The trainer looked thoughtful as they made their way through the crowds to the front desk. “I’m not sure. ‘Magma Corps’.... I once knew a Team Magma, but-”
“Oh, those nut jobs?” Bianca snorted at the mention of the group, who along with Team Aqua, caused quite a stir. Alto Mare was fortunate enough to not be entirely caught in the storm that ensued, although they did experience the very edges of it.
“Yeah, they were…they were pretty tough,” Ash admitted as they stood in line, Bianca turning and frowning. What did he mean by that?
“Tough? You fought them?”
Ash nodded with a frown as he glanced at Pikachu. “With my friends, yeah. Team Aqua was there, and…. It wasn’t a great day. Luckily, we put a stop to them.”
“You-you what?” Bianca faced him completely, leaning forward intently. “Are you telling me you’re directly responsible for locking those wacko eco-terrorists away?”
“I mean, it wasn’t just me. We only helped a bit.” Ash dipped his head and looked away. “It was mostly Steven Stone. He’s the champion of Hoenn.”
“Even so, that’s…” Bianca trailed off with a shake of her head. “You really are a trouble magnet, aren’t you?”
Pikachu snorted as he straightened up on his trainer’s shoulder. He shook his head as if to say, “You have no idea.”
Ash merely laughed and said, “I’ve been told that a lot.”
“I can believe it, given what you’ve already told me.” Before she could ask anything else, they reached the front of the bag check line, where Bianca was finally able to offload her luggage onto the airport staff.
Thankfully, getting her bag checked was a quick affair that took mere minutes. Bianca took one last look at the bag as it moved down the conveyor belt, praying it would be alright before they thanked the clerk and stepped away from the counter.
“Now that that’s out of the way, how much time do we have?” She asked him as they stepped away from the lobby.
Ash looked around for a moment, finding a large screen some distance away. Reading it was downright impossible, between the angle they were viewing it from the particularly dense throng of people around. She was barely able to lurch forward in time to follow as he quickly moved ahead to read the screen.
Even as they slowed to a stop, Ash was staring at it with rapt attention before announcing, “Looks like we gotta be there in an hour.”
“The flight leaves in an hour? Didn’t that car practically run red lights to get here?” Bianca asked, now frantically looking around the bustling terminal. Could they even get to their plane in time?
Good thing I got my bag checked in when I did, She thought to herself with a flicker of relief.
Ash shook his head, clearly unconcerned by the time crunch before replying. “No, no. The flight leaves in just two hours, we just have to be there with time to spare!” He then cheerfully strolled forward and he called something else over his shoulder, although this being difficult to hear thanks to the distance between them and the sheer amount of people and conversations moving around them. Frustrated, she pushed forward through the crowd and stayed close as they began pushing their way through the crowd towards where she hoped they would find their gate.
At her insistent tugging on his shirt, he turned curiously to look at her, and she almost shouted over the noise, “Are you sure we’re going the right way?!”
He nodded and said something that sounded like “yup!” and pointed up at a sign hanging from the ceiling that read:
<- K1 - K3 1G - G5 ->
<-A1 K1 - K4 ->
<- O1 - O2 H1 - H5 ->
S1 - S4 ^ Z1 - Z3 ^
U1 - U7 ^ T1 - T2 ^
It didn’t make much sense to her, and she turned to look at Ash with a confused expression.
Catching this, he spoke in a loud yet friendly tone, “Different planes and stuff! We’re G2, which is the closest. According to the sign, anyway.”
It slightly cleared things up for her, but there was still something that needed clarification. “Okay, but why isn’t it in alphabetical order? What’s with all the random letters?”
“Uh, Region names, I think? ‘G’ for Galar, ‘A’ for Alola, and so on,” was his response, and she felt mildly ridiculous after hearing it. I should have gathered that when he said we were going to the ‘G’ gates, she huffed as she shook her head.
“That..makes sense. Alright, well then let’s get going.” Bianca looked up at the sign again and confirmed which way they should head, before grabbing onto Ash’s sleeve and dragging him along.
At least, she tried to. He was a lot more solid than Bianca gave him credit for, and the action jerked her back, his steadying hand grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from falling.
“Woah, careful!”
No kidding, she thought sarcastically before letting go of his sleeve. “Thank you for stopping me from falling. Now come on!” She insisted as she once more walked towards the gate, Ash once more following close behind.
~An Hour Later~
Bianca clutched the armrests on either side of her, paling at every minor bump she felt. This was a little scarier than she thought it would be. Especially following a relatively relaxed if not boring wait at the gate. Why they had to be there an hour before they could actually board the plane, she didn’t know, but it at least gave her some time to calm her nerves.
Now, she was essentially locked inside a soon-to-be flying can, roaring across the runway. Just when she thought it couldn’t get worse, the plane began tilting up before lifting off the ground entirely, causing a whole host of nauseating sensations.
The feeling in her stomach was comparable to that of the times Latios and Latias took her on the occasional flight, except so much worse. Her stomach felt like it was left behind on the runway, while she could feel herself being pressed into her seat.
Despite the lack of wind peeling her face off, she would skip this in favor of the twins anyday.
“Hey, are you alright?” Ash’s voice came from her side, and she turned to see his concerned face. She returned it with a tight smile, remarking in a dry voice, “I suppose it’s too late to ask if we can just sail to Galar instead.”
He chuckled as he scratched behind Pikachu’s ear. “‘Fraid so,” he replied in a sympathetic tone. “Don’t worry, though; these things are pretty reliable, and much faster than any car or boat!”
‘But is it safer?’ Bianca couldn’t help but wonder, only to notice the pull on her body has significantly lessened. Turning to look out the rather small window, she could see the plane had somewhat decreased their incline, much to the relief of her nerves
She slowly allowed herself to relax, feeling most of the tension in her body leave as she continued to gaze out of the window.
Seeing the structures get smaller and smaller as the plane continued their mild ascent was a surreal experience for her; the highest the twins ever took her was maybe two hundred feet off the water. And now here she was, many times that and climbing higher still.
In the span of less than twenty four hours, she went from an artistically inclined city girl to a nervously reclined airborne girl, all in the name of following a guy she met exactly once before.
Just what had her life come to?
Hardly matters now, Bianca thought to herself with pursed lips. ‘I won’t waste this opportunity, even if the circumstances are a little absurd.’
Regardless, she had little choice now but to gaze out of the window and watch as her home region gradually faded from sight.
The many hours that followed were filled with the occasional small talk, broken up whenever one of the two of them fell into a short nap.
Well, short for her, at least. Ash slept like a log, the entire middle of the flight was spent by him lolling in his seat this way and that, drool slipping from one corner from his mouth every so often. It was truly impressive, although that meant they’d have to delay their talk on why he seemed to attract trouble wherever he went.
Outside of that, the ride was enjoyable at times, and seeing the clouds themselves beneath them was awe-inspiring. She was almost disappointed when she could feel the plane begin its descent.
That disappointment was short lived in favor of that same nauseating feeling as the plane broke through the clouds, and she could see the ground and the buildings that inhabited it become rapidly clearer in a rather unfortunate reversal of their initial take off.
A patch of white caught her eye as she looked off, seeing a series of mountains draped in snow, looming menacingly in the distance.
Bianca’s grip on the armrests tightened once more uneasily, looking away from the peaks as the plane rapidly approached the runway, practically skimming over the tops of buildings during their descent.
Paradoxically, she almost wished the flight had lasted longer just to delay what she knew was going to be a bumpy landing.
Suddenly, the captain’s voice came through the speakers overhead in a pleasant voice, “Alright, folks, give a warm welcome to Wyndon as we land in three…two….anndd, one!”
She jolted in her seat as the plane finally touched down on the ground below, causing her to bite back a curse, feeling her stomach complain again.
I hate these stupid things, she mentally seethed, wondering how Ash was so calm beside her as the plane gradually slowed down, only to remember how he must have traveled to and from Alola in the first place.
‘Of course he’s used to this, what am I thinking? Still, it would have been nice to get a heads up.’
However, another look determined he was still knocked out cold. Of course, she snorted. She gave him a gentle jab with her elbow and spoke in a loud tone, “Wake up, Mister Tour Guide. We’re here.”
The boy didn’t budge, however, leading Pikachu to mutter to himself before giving the boy a small shock. It did the trick, as the trainer spasmed in his seat, looking around with freshly frazzled hair. “Whatsitz?”
“We’re here, Ash,” Bianca reiterated as she glanced out the window once more. Now that they were safely on the ground it was mildly difficult to judge what to expect with the region, as her window was still facing the main runway. Any buildings in view were far off in the distance, and farther still were the mountains.
She sighed as she turned away from the window and waited for the plane to pull into the gate. She very much hoped that they would be staying far from the mountains. While the occasional gust from the sea in Alto Mare could make her shiver, she was well aware that the chill would be incomparable to the freezing temperatures that came with high elevations.
Although I might never have to if they take any longer getting us off this plane, she internally grumbled, feeling antsy as the plane moved at a crawling speed towards the gate.
Ash was buzzing with excitement next to her, idly scratching Pikachu behind his ears as he all but bounced in his seat. In contrast to her own impatience, he seems to be more cheerful about the wait, a trait Bianca wished she shared.
His patience was rewarded a few minutes later when the door was unlocked and opened, while a flight attendant grabbed the microphone off of the wall and brightly announced, “Welcome to Galar! Please take a moment to gather your belongings from the overhead compartments, and we will shortly allow you to disembark one section at a time.” Together, Ash and Bianca waited until finally, they were told it was time. Filing out of the jetway, they made for the luggage racks.
About time, Bianca thought to herself as her luggage came into view around the carousel. To her relief, it appeared that everything was present and intact. Her canvas tube was still strapped to her pack, the pockets were all still firmly closed, and there didn’t appear to be any damage to any of it.
That is, until Ash reached down and heaved it off the carousel, and she saw the many scrapes on the bottom. Sighing, she shook her head in disappointment. She had just gotten that yesterday, and there was already damage, albeit minor.
Can’t be helped, I suppose. At least it isn’t too bad.
“Thank you, Ash,” she said as she reached for the proffered pack and grunted as she carefully maneuvered it on her back, ensuring the straps were pulled tight enough. Once she was certain they were secure, she turned to Ash with an uncertain expression.
“Well, here we are, I suppose. I guess we just..head out?”
“Yeah, that sounds good!” He cheerfully replied as he began leading the way from baggage claim and the exit, Pikachu turning from his spot on Ash’s shoulders and shooting Bianca a thumbs up. The gesture helped her relax, and she returned it with a smile.
Just as they reached the main lobby of the airport, the intercom buzzed again, and the voice pleasantly announced:
“Welcome to the Galar Region. We hope you enjoy your stay!”
‘So do I,’ Bianca thought to herself as she exhaled slowly, before following Ash outside.