A Long-awaited beginning

The dock of the boat was bustling as the shore of the Tohjo Region came into sight. Kylee avoided the bustle, preferring instead to lean on the ship's railing and watch the impeding land intently. After 17 years of waiting, she was finally starting her pokemon journey. She took a deep breath as she turned away from the railing. The other trainers, all of them from the Hoenn Region, like herself, had gotten word that they'd be pulling into dock soon, and were emerging onto the ship's deck.

Two boys wearing pokeballs on their belts walked up beside Kylee and leaned on the rail, peering at foggy apparition in the distance. "What are you going to do first when you get there?!" one trainer spoke to the other, his voice was pulsing with excitement. The other trainer replied with equal enthusiasm, "I don't know...Wait! I've heard the contests in this area are spectacular!" The other trainer agreed vehemently, "I heard that too! I can't wait to make my pokemon look spectacular!" Their conversation dropped off for a moment, the trainers turned towards Kylee, "What about you?"

Kylee smiled, contests had never interested her much, she much preferred battling and training, and considered contests to be more of a sideshow, she hesitated to answer, but did so anyways, "I want to challenge the pokemon league...I also want to catch a great pokemon team." The two trainers looked slightly crestfallen, so Kylee added, "Of course, I'll probably pursue the occasional contest, all work and no play makes for a dull adventure...which pokemon were you thinking of training?" It was a compromise subject of conversation, they talked of different pokemon and their merits in contests and battle. Time flew by and before you know it..."We've arrived in Newport! All passengers may proceed to the Tohjo region!" Here we go... Kylee could barely contain her excitement with that thought.

As she walked towards the information center for the Tohjo region, Kylee slowly pulled a pokeball off of her belt and depressed the center button, forcing the ball to release its contents. Wraithlike, her Gastly seemed to pour out of the ball, as it always did. It gave her a chilling smile, seeming to thank her in its own creepy way, before fading into invisibility. Kylee was unconcerned, she rarely kept the thing in its pokeball, it was always floating just behind her. Though she had found out that she had to keep tabs on its behavior the hard way, after it had traumatized a few trainers on the boat. "Stay close," she said it kindly, but firmly. On one hand, she wanted Gastly to stay out of trouble, on the other, she didn't want to hurt its feelings. She approached a multi-windowed building in the center of town, the information center

"Welcome!" The woman working the kiosk was a friendly sort, perfect for her job, "welcome to the Tohjo Region! How may I help you?" Kylee responded readily, she had planned out her first few steps on the boat, "I need a map and any information you have about Tohjo's pokemon league." The worker ducked behind the window before reappearing with two folded pieces of paper. "Here's your map...and this is information regarding the location of the gyms...Was there anything else?" Kylee smiled and shook her head as she pushed some money over the counter. Anything from the information center was free, but Kylee wanted to express her gratitude nevertheless, "no, that's all, thank you!" The woman looked down at the money and smiled brightly, she waved at Kylee's retreating figure, "good luck on your journey!"

Gastly reappeared as Kylee dug through her pack, they were at the outskirts of Newport town. "--and there's food...my pokeballs...my canteen of water...and a potion." Kylee finished mumbling to herself and glanced up at Gastly. "It looks like we're all set...Are you ready!" Gastly smiled delightedly and maliciously chuckled. Kylee didn't fault him for it, ghost pokemon usually sounded sinister by design, not by nature. She reached out affectionately and felt a creeping chill envelope her hand. Kylee smiled as she zipped up her pack and set the strap over one shoulder. "Let's get moving."