A Rapidash drawn carriage speeds through the forest, surrounded by a small company of guards following on Rapidash. Inside the carriage sit King Bran and Queen Ana of Johto, on their way to Kanto.

"I'm so excited to see Kanto! I haven't been there since my Pokémon journey oh so long ago," King Bran says as he stretches and looks over to his queen sitting across from him.

"That's great honey," she answers, knitting a scarf.

"Why do you knit when you can have someone make it for you at the castle?"

"You know what they say: it isn't the end of the journey, but the journey itself that's the best part."

"I can agree with that," the King says.

They sit in silence for a few minutes.

"Darling, will you put your seat belt on for me?" King Bran asks.

"Why? There's no need, we're not-"

"Please."

"Are you ok honey?"

The King then stands and rushes to his queen, buckling her in. He grabs the needles out of his queen's hand.

"What are you doing?" Queen Ana asks.

"No matter what happens, I love you," King Bran answers as he goes for the door. At the moment, the carriage is hit with a powerful blast, knocking it off the road. The carriage rolls down the hill it was currently on. Queen Ana closes her eyes and screams, holding on for dear life. Eventually, the carriage comes to a hault.

Queen Ana groans, holding her head. She hears the cries of men and Pokémon battling ouside.

"Oh no!"

She opens her eyes, and she sees she's hanging upside down, her seat belt holding her up.

"Bran? Bran? Are you there?" Queen Ana asks, looking frantically around. Her eyes widen when she finds his body. His face is facing upward, his eyes wide open. One of her needles is shoved into his hand, and the other ended up in his throat.

The Queen covers her face in an attempt to choke back her sobs.

"Do you think they're dead?"

"No. One of them is still alive. Burn the carriage."

Queen Ana gasps as flames begin to engulf the carriage.

She unclips the seat belt, and falls on top of the King's body.

"I love you," Queen Ana says, kissing her king one last time, then opens crawls out through a cracked open window.

"Oh, there she is. Crawling on the ground like the filth she is," a man says.

The Queen looks up and standing before here is a man wearing black pants, and a black cloak.

"Where's the King?" Another man with the same outfit, but with a scarf says.

They both look at the Queen of Johto, waiting for an answer.

She look away towards the carriage, the flames eating it away.

"Damn! I wanted a challenge today," the man with the scarf yells as he walks away.

"Your highness! Are you ok?"

The Queen turns as she hears one of her guards yell for her. The young guard grunts in pain as a Lucario jabs him in the ribs. He manages to push the Lucario away and attempts to run towards her. But suddenly, a sharp thin blade pierces through his back and comes out of his chest. A man with the black hat with a blue feather then pulls out the rapier from the guard. The guard flops on the ground, gasping for his final breaths.

"It's about time we meet again Queen Ana," the man with the hat says.

"W-who are you?"

"You don't remember me? I'm Riley."

The Queen gasps.

"Riley? What are you doing? Don't you realize what will happen now that-"

"The King of Johto is dead? Oh, I'm well aware my dear. Now Sinnoh will finally gain it's independence," Riley says, as his men and their Lucarios circle around the queen. Her eyes widen in fear.

"Don't worry Ana, we aren't barbarians," Riley says, as he turns around and walks away with his Lucario following.

"But that doesn't mean this won't hurt."

~~~~

Crystal is woken up by Red's yelling. She slowly opens her eyes, and she sees Red's hair sticking up, and his face covered in soot.

"Pika Pi, Pika!"

"I get it. You won't wear the bow tie."

"Good morning," Crystal says, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning Princess. I didn't mean to wake you, I was just trying to get Pika dressed."

"Dressed? What for?"

Red stares at her.

"What?"

"You don't know what today is?"

Oh Arceus, don't tell me today's the wedding, Crystal thinks as her face goes pale.

Red notices and gives her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry, it's not today. It won't happen for at least for another three days."

Crystal sighs in relief.

"Then why the bowtie?"

"Today is the 100th anniversary for the start of my family's rule."

"Oh! So I'm guessing there's going to be a party?"

"You betcha. So we all need to look our best, and help prepare for it," Red says, as he looks into the broken mirror and starts to comb his hair.

"Ok! I'll help!" Crystal says, jumping out of bed and digging through her suitcase.

"Don't worry too much about what to wear."

"Why?"

"Because no matter what you wear, you're beautiful."

Crystal blushes, as she stops and looks at Red.

Maybe marrying this kid may not be so bad after all, she thinks as she shakes her head and continues to dig through her suitcase.

~~~~

Serena stumbles as she tries to navigate through the crowded Saffron City. Being the capital of Kanto, it's where the castle is located. But unfortunately, Serena is yet to find the castle. Instead, she's in the center of the square market, walking past dozens of fruit, and other kinds of produce stands.

Someone bumps into Serena, pushing her against a stand.

"Ugh," she says, rolling her eyes in frustration.

She takes a few steps foward, then stops, realizing the stand she ran into sells her favorite berries: Rawst berries.

She quickly turns back and looks in awe at the ripeness of the fruit. Her mouth waters, already tasting the bitter berry.

Serena looks at the vendor, who's smiling at her.

"Good morning young lady. Can I interest you in some Rawst Berries? They were freshly picked this morning!"

"Thank you sir, but I'm just admiring how beautiful they are."

"Heh, they are beautiful indeed. If you would like to buy some, please let me know!" He says as he turns to greet another customer.

People are very trusting in Kanto, Serena notes as she stares at the berries.

Her stomach growls.

Maybe I can grab a handful and take off? He's too busy to pay much attention to me, and if he does spot me, I can just hide in the crowd, Serena debates.

She slowly reaches out to grab a handful.

"Hey!"

She pull her arm back and jumps up. She looks over at the vendor and he's greeting a young woman with long blonde hair wearing brown clothing and a straw hat.

"Hello Mr. Erickson! How are you doing?"

"I'm great! How about you Yellow?"

"I'm good! Do you have the order ready?"

"I do! Just give me a second to box it up for you!"

Serena and Yellow make eye contact, and Serena quickly looks away.

"Here it is! Anything else I can get for you?" The vendor asks as Yellow recieves the box.

"Actually, could you give me a small carton? I want a little something to snack on on my way back to the castle," Yellow asks.

"Of course! Give me a moment."

Serena's heart rate increases. She can't help but get the feeling Yellow saw her attempt. As Serena attempts to walk away, Yellow quickly grabs her wrist and pulls her towards her.

"Don't move," Yellow whispers as Mr. Erickson appears again.

Yellow begins to reach for her bag with her free hand.

"Oh no! Don't worry about it Yellow!"

"Mr. Erickson, please, let me-"

"Then look at it as thank you for helping my son with his treehouse."

Yellow opens her mouth to protest, but decides against it.

"Thank you so much Mr. Erickson. Chu here will wait on top of the boxes until someone from the castle comes to take them," Yellow says as she receives the small carton from Mr. Erickson.

"That's fine! I'll see you soon Yellow!"

"Bye Mr. Erickson!"

Yellow then begins to pull Serena down the road, away from town.

"Where are we-"

"Sh!"

Serena stays quiet. She's unsure on what to do. She can't pull out her Pokémon, since that will be a dead giveaway that she isn't from around here. And Yellow has such a dead grip on her wrist. So she does what she can do, and obeys her orders, waiting to see what happens next.