Chapter Text
A sixteen year old boy with short brown hair and brown eyes that held a happy sparkle came running down the street. A Cyndaquil ran behind him, doing a good job in keeping up with him with his short paws. Together they ran over the sidewalk in Mesperit city, on their way to the harbour.
“Hurry Lytse, we can’t be late.”
“Quil!” the small Cyndaquil replied, getting slightly out of breath, but he was determined to keep up with his trainer.
Michael almost bumped into a woman who walked on the sidewalk with a buggy, but he was able to move to the right just in time and the Cyndaquil passed the woman on the left. “Sorry about that!” he called over his shoulder to her with a laugh on his face. He didn’t slow down either, he had to be in the harbour before the ferry left. There were more people on the sidewalk and Michael had to do some effort in evading them and keeping up the pace, but he managed.
“What’s the rush, boy?” one of the older pedestrians asked when she noticed Michael running towards her.
“I have a promise to keep!” Michael said as he passed her, his eyes had a happy sparkle as he spoke and the elderly women smiled.
They reached the harbour district, an open space between the city and the harbour with a big statue in the middle. And the ferry was still in the harbour. Perfect. He ran to where more people had gathered to wave their loved ones goodbye. His eyes skimmed over the people that were standing on the ferry until he found the one he was looking for. A girl of his age, her long blonde hair reached down to her shoulders and she had a blue hat on her head, the hat had a wide edge and a white band around it.
Michael started waving. “Kimberly!”
Kimberly looked around when she heard her name and her eyes lit up when she noticed Michael. “You came! I thought you wouldn’t show up anymore!”
“I promised I’d be here, didn’t I?” Michael laughed and picked up his Cyndaquil, so he could wave goodbye as well. “And when you will get your first Pokémon, I will be there and we will travel Sinnoh together!”
“Deal!”
The Cyndaquil waved with both his front paws as he was being held in one of Michaels arms. Michael used his free arm to wave as well as the ferry started to depart. He was glad he had made it in time to say goodbye to Kimberly.
Kimberly was a tourist, a girl from Sandgem Town of the Sinnoh region. She has come to Rhando Island with her family for the summer vacation and they had met on the peer, where she had been looking at the sunset. Michael had walked up to her with his Cyndaquil walking next to him and they had started talking. She had told Michael she wanted to be a trainer, she had wanted to get her own Pokémon ever since she was ten, but her parents had said she couldn’t become a trainer until she was sixteen, which would be in two months. Michael told her he wanted to be a trainer as well, but even though he already had his first Pokémon he hadn’t left his hometown yet. He had offered her to show her around and she had gladly taken the offer. Since that evening they had spent a lot of time together on the island and Michael showed her the beautiful places close to Mesperit City. Towards the end of her vacation they made a promise, Michael would come to the Sinnoh region when she was old enough to get her first Pokémon and travel around together.
Michael waved until it was impossible to see Kimberly, but he didn’t leave just yet. With his Cyndaquil in his arms he watched the ferry leave towards the horizon. It wasn't until the ferry was out of sight he turned around and returned home.
Michael had returned to his house after the ferry had disappeared behind the horizon and he was now sitting on his bed in his room, listening to some music. His Cyndaquil took a nap on the foot-end of the bed, his body slowly rising and falling in the calm rhythm that came with sleep. Michael could hear the phone ring downstairs and his father answering it, the voice of his father was a distant buzz, he could hear his father was talking but he couldn’t make out what. Not that he was actively trying to overhear the conversation, but it he was able to hear him and for some reason it was comforting to know his father was home.
Then he heard his fathers voice, calling him from downstairs. “Michael! Come to the phone, uncle Andy wants to talk to you!”
Michael quickly got up from where he had been sitting and walked down, where he met his father in the hallway. His father gave a wink, pointed towards the living room and walked towards the kitchen to get himself a cup of coffee. Michael quickly walked into the living room, where he picked up the phone.
“It’s Michael.”
“Michael! Andy here. Say, are you interested in joining me on a mission of utter importance that will most certainly save the world?”
Michael laughed, knowing his uncle the mission would not be as he just described it. “What’s the mission?”
“We’re heading over to Evoru Island and take some notes on the colony of Cyndaquil there.”
Evoru Island, the final and smallest island of the Rorie-Islands, of which Rhando was the first and largest. It had one town, a stadium where once a year the Rorie League was being held and there were a few isolated houses spread over the island. There weren’t many Pokémon there, some common species you could find anywhere and just one or two colonies of rarer types of Pokémon. One of them being a colony of Cyndaquil, as Andy had just mentioned.
“I’d love to come!” Michael said, not at all surprised the mission to save the world had come down to an expedition to observe some Pokémon.
“Fantastic! Meet me at the harbour in one hour, I’ll have a boat ready for us.”
“I’ll have to ask my father if I can come along, but I will come to the harbour,” Michael promised and after a final goodbye he hung up the phone. Almost immediately he left the living room to go his father in the kitchen.
Matt stirred in a cup of coffee when he noticed his son enter the kitchen. “And?” he asked Michael. “What did my brother want?”
“He asked me if I wanted to join an expedition to Evoru island to visit a colony of Cyndaquil,” Michael said enthusiastically. “He...just didn’t tell how long it would take,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “And I kinda forgot to ask as well.”
“That’s alright,” Matt said, chuckling as he did. “You can go.”
“Really?” Michael asked and his eyes lit up. He really wanted to go and when he saw his father nod the smile on his face grew. “Fantastic! Thanks dad! I’m going to pack!”