AN: I'm experimenting with a new Pokémon fanfiction  because I have some new ideas that I'd like to put into writing, but the plan is very tentative and I'm not sure if I'll go through with it. I'm short on time and motivation (as usual) and am only posting this to see if you guys like the start - if so I might continue it.

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The scent of salt permeated the air as I stepped off the cruise liner, taking my first steps onto Sinnoh territory. I breathed deeply, relishing the aromatic smell of the ocean as wind whipped around me, effectively messing up my short hair. People milled around me, leaving or boarding the ship, but I stayed firmly rooted in place, an anchor among waves.

At my feet were a single suitcase and a pink-furred Skitty, the latter of which was running in circles, apparently overstimulated by the bustle of the crowd. I leaned down and scooped her up, tucking her safely inside my totebag. I gripped the strap tightly so the bag wouldn't swing too much, and with my free hand I grabbed ahold of the rolling suitcase. With that, we were on our way.

The wheels of my suitcase rumbled across the wooden planks of the dock, sending vibrations up my arm, but that wasn't the source of the buzzing in my stomach. My nerves were on fire. I'd never been to Sinnoh before, and a mixture of excitement, hope, and anxiety churned inside me. This was only amplified by the clean air and dozens of people. Bright sunlight shone down on me, uncharacteristically warm for this time of year. Probably because I'm so far south, I thought, taking in the sight of Sandgem Town. It was a small but busy little town, swarming with people and sparkling under the sun's rays. To my right was a long beach, looking warm and inviting with its stretch of pale sand. Later, I reprimanded myself, first you have to settle in.

I glanced at the picturesque beach longingly, but forced myself to focus on the task at hand. Hopping gently off the end of the dock, I started down the boardwalk, admiring the surf shops and tourist traps alongside upscale restaurants and fancy hotels. I was vaguely reminded of Olivine City in Johto, a seaside port that I'd visited on vacation as a kid. I could also compare it to Slateport in my home region of Hoenn, but Sandgem was much smaller and less urbanized, and built more like a resort destination than a shopping district. But this only made it more attractive; I'd seen pictures of the town at night, and even in photographs the lights seemed to twinkle against the waves. I could only imagine what it would look like in person.

"Guess I'll find out tonight," I murmured to myself, glancing in at the shop windows. I passed an arcade with signs that flashed even in the daylight. Inside, the room was darkened but far from dreary, filled to the brim with kids and teens eager to pour their tokens into the game machines. A cacophony of noise spilled out from the open entryway, and I lingered casually. I knew I couldn't stop and play, not with what limited money I had on hand, but I mentally marked it down for future reference. If I had the chance later on, I'd definitely return to get a few games in.

I continued on, occasionally glancing down at my Skitty to see if she was doing alright. But she seemed perfectly content to rest in the totebag while I did all the walking, if her steady purring was any indication. Though a bit nervous about the hectic environment, she poked her head out from time to time in curiosity. I supposed that she was glad to be back out in the world again, among other people and trainers.

Eventually we came to the end of the boardwalk, so I turned and headed into town, which was quieter and more quaint. It didn't take long to find the PokéCenter, and once there I immediately checked in and asked to make a video call. After putting my bags in a locker and leaving Nurse Joy to care for my Skitty, I logged onto one of the PCs and started a video conference.

The first ring had barely finished when the call was picked up. "Hey, Mariela! How's it going?"

I smiled at the blonde girl on the screen, feeling refreshed to see a familiar face. "Pretty good, I just got into town. I'm kind of tired from the long trip, but nothing that sleep won't solve."

"That's great!" she chirped, eyes shining with excitement. "Have you been to the beach yet?"

"When I said I just got into town, I meant I just got into town. I haven't even rented a room yet," I replied with a touch of amusement.

"What!" she cried, fixing me with a stern gaze. Her previously cheerful attitude did a 180 and turned serious. "That should've been the first thing you did after you got off the ship! Sheesh, it's wonder you've managed to stay alive all these years...do you really need to be looked after at 17?"

"Zoe, stop acting like my mother," I said, rolling my eyes. "I'm headed straight to a hotel after this, I promise. I just wanted to check in first." I paused, trying to ignore her constant stream of admonishment. It was kind of impressive that she could be such a chatterbox even through a flimsy public internet signal. "Speaking of which, when will you be here?"

She cut her lecture short and hesitated before answering. "Maybe...tomorrow? Or the day after...this weekend, at the latest."

Now it was my turn to cry out in distress. "This weekend?! Zoe! You promised--"

"I know, I know!" she said guiltily, looking genuinely remorseful. "But my Vivillon tore her wing yesterday and I don't know if she can make the trip, so I have to find someone to take care of her while I'm gone. And that's no easy task! It's the beginning of fall and everyone is busy with the flowers! Mariela, do you know what it's like living in Floaroma Town during autumn? The leftover annuals have to be picked, the perennials need to be prepared for winter, most of the garden vegetables still haven't been harvested..."

I sighed, letting my frustration go. I'd figured that it was just Zoe and her usual inability to arrive anywhere on time, but this was truly out of her control. "Alright, I understand," I responded tolerantly, as Zoe was close tears, "It's not that big of a deal...I just don't know what I'm going to do for the next few days. I was planning on being in and out of Sandgem, so..."

Zoe perked up a bit, satisfied that I'd accepted her apology. "You can go to the beach! And there are some really nice restaurants on the boardwalk...and hey, usually the carnival comes to town around this time. Most of the rides are pretty juvenile, but there'll be vendors and games. Oh! There's also an arcade, and in town there's this great store--"

I let her ramble on for a bit, taking recommendations for dining and entertainment. Zoe's parents had a beach house near Sandgem Town, so she spent a majority of her time there every summer. Ergo, her knowledge of the area was both extensive and accurate. Not to mention, she capitalized on what she thought I'd enjoy the most, having known me for six years and counting. I ended up using the Notes function on my Pokégear to save the names of the various establishments that Zoe listed, because I was self-aware of the fact that my memory wasn't the greatest.

"...And yeah, you definitely have to check out the salon. You keep telling me that you're going to dye your hair, but you never do! Now's your chance."

I reached up and took ahold of one of my sidebangs, twisting it thoughtfully. I did want to dye it - maybe not fully, but at least add some streaks, and I'd mentioned as such numerous times.

"But what color should I do?" I mused aloud, rolling the strands between my fingers.

"Well, practically everything goes with black," Zoe pointed out. "But I think you'd look cool and spunky with a dark purple. Y'know, to amp up the not-quite-tomboy look you've got going."

"I'll think about it," I relinquished, dropping my hand back into my lap. I fixed her with a small smile. "You're really excited about this, huh? Probably more than I am!"

Zoe's grin was dazzling. "I just can't wait to show you Sinnoh! It's a beautiful region, really, and I know you're going to love it! It'll be so much fun. Just think! You'll get to see Mt. Coronet and Jubilife City, and my hometown, and the library in Canalave. And that's just on the west side of the region! I don't know the east as well, but...I've been through a few times and it's definitely worth taking you."

I laughed, drawn into her enthusiasm. "You can't wait to show off Sinnoh, can you?"

"You know it!" she admitted easily. "But one you see it, you'll understand. It definitely lives up to the hype."

Well, pretty much anyone would think the same of their beloved home, but I'd give Zoe the benefit of the doubt on this one. So far, it really did seem like a nice place, even if I'd only experienced the tiniest portion of it.

"Where are we going to first?" I asked curiously. If she had a lot of hotspots in mind, we had to start somewhere.

"That's a secret," she replied with a wink.

I raised an eyebrow but didn't push the subject. "Riiight. Well, then...how far away is Snowpoint City?"

"Snowpoint?" Zoe asked in surprise. "Uh. It's...pretty far. Way up north. You really can't get much farther away from Sandgem unless you go east. And there's not much other than, like, ski resorts and the gym there. That's to be expected, given that it's pretty much in permafrost, but still...it's pretty desolate. Why, do you want to go? I'm not against it, but there aren't very many attractions. Unless you're a trainer..." she trailed off, looking at me carefully.

My back went rigid. "No. I...I'm definitely done with serious Pokémon training. That's not it. I just...was interested."

"Alright..." she said slowly. "Well. If you're not training I don't know how you would've heard about Snowpoint, but then again it's not as if it's a big secret. Where'd you learn about it?"

"Online," I replied evasively. "Listen, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

I smiled sheepishly. "Um. Where's the best hotel around here?"

♦

Two hours later, I was sprawled on a comfortable twin-sized bed, my Skitty curled up in a fluffy ball next to me. Lying on my stomach, I poured over a map of the Sinnoh region from a brochure that I'd picked up in the hotel lobby. Tracing my finger across the surface, I absorbed as much information as I could. The names of each of the towns were written in small print above the little red dots that marked them. My eyes travelled up the page, finally resting upon Snowpoint City, at the very top of the page. "Zoe wasn't kidding," I remarked quietly. It really was far north. I wondered if they even got springtime in a place like that. Probably not.

Gazing down at the map, I noticed a lot of the locations that Zoe had mentioned. Jubilife City was much closer than I'd initially assumed; it would probably take just over a day to reach it on foot. If we started early in the morning and kept a good pace, we might even be able to get there before nightfall. But then again, efficiency wasn't our objective. For our purposes, it'd be better to take it easy and enjoy ourselves, rather than try to power through like our feet were on fire. We weren't exactly short on time.

Zoe and I had been talking about this trip for years, but it wasn't until a few months ago that we really got to work planning it out. Before then, we'd always been too busy with our own lives to take time off for a vacation. I was too preoccupied with my Pokémon journey in Hoenn, and Zoe was working in her parent's flower shop so that she'd be ready to take over their business when she got older. Zoe had never been on a Pokémon journey, but she was content to stay home and raise her team on her own. She always said that she got enough traveling done with her parents, which seemed true enough, based on the hundreds of pictures she'd sent me through the years. But now that she was older and had proven herself responsible to her parents, they were willing to give her some time off to go sightseeing with me.

Despite the tradition, most trainers didn't start their journeys at ten anymore. The world was pretty dangerous, what with the rise of so many evil teams over the years, and parents were wary to let their kids out into the wild blue yonder so soon. Nowadays, most of us were thirteen before we started out, myself included. I didn't feel a sense of loss for waiting, though, because I'd had a great run. Three years of exploring Hoenn had given me endless opportunities to see and meet new places and people.

But now I was 17, and by now it was expected of me to either be an established trainer, or give up that impossible dream and go to college to prepare for a career. At sixteen, I finally came home and started thinking about my future, but before I'd settled on anything, I'd received a call from Zoe. She had told me that in a few months her parents were going to give her some well-earned time off from the flower shop, and it would be the perfect time to finally give me a grand tour of Sinnoh. So I got a part-time job at the Pokémart in my hometown and saved up some money for traveling fees, and five months later, here I was.

We were going to make most of the trip on foot, as was the custom, but to cut time Zoe was planning on taking a train from Floaroma Town to Sandgem. It would only take a day or two for her to reach the destination, but that was a day or two that I had to spend alone in an unfamiliar city. Not to mention however long it would take for her to find someone willing to care for her injured Vivillon.

Still, I couldn't really stay upset. I was eager to finally see her. Zoe and I had never really met each other before, actually. We got to know each other online through a forum, and chatted on a daily basis ever since. Now we had a chance to really get to know one another, by spending the next few months in each other's company.

A low grumble in my stomach drew me out of my thoughts, and I rolled over onto my back with a groan. "I'm starving. Wanna go get something to eat, Silk?"

The Skitty gave an enormous yawn for an answer, then stood up and stretched. I took that to mean she was ready for dinner, too. With that in mind, I grinned and stood up, scooping my Skitty off the bed. "Let's find ourselves some food!"