A Late Start

A Long Flight

The entrance to the cave seemed massive, I could already make out a blue glow, presumably from the electrically charged crystals Chargestone Cave is known for. Stepping inside made the hairs on my back immediately stand on edge, the atmosphere was so charged with static electricity it made my entire body feel tingly. I shivered almost instinctively, I glanced over to see Ethan in much the same situation.
"Ahhhhh," the professor sighed. "Isn't the atmosphere here something else kids?"
"It feels like the air is on fire," Ethan said flatly
"Not fire, Electricity," the professor responded without skipping a beat. "The static charge in this cave comes from the many electric type pokemon that live here, in turn allowing these crystals to float, and even glide along through the air." as she said that last part she pushed one of the large crystals off into the distance, causing a loud clink somewhere further into the cave.
"I had heard of the charged atmosphere in documentaries, but I never imagined it could be so.. powerful," I remarked.
"You get used to it after a few trips, exhilarating isn't it? this place has one of the most unique ecosystems in Unova. many of the creatures here feed directly on the static charge that fills the cave. the crystals store the energy from their electric attacks and can hold that charge for centuries. the result is the air inside the cave feeling, well. like this," the professor informed us, clearly far more interested in the cave than any of the areas before now.
"Couldn't all of this electricity be dangerous?" I asked.
"Not at all, the amount in the air is actually surprisingly low, not even enough to cause mild shocks, plus the ground is more than enough to pull any out of our bodies before It could build to a dangerous amount."
"Dangerous or no, can we just get out of here as quickly as possible? I don't much like all this talk of electricity in our bodies," Ethan interjected before the professor could finish her thought.
"As curious as I am, I have to agree, this place makes me feel all kinds of weird." I followed up
"Fair enough," the professor said somewhat dejectedly "We're not here to enjoy the cave anyways. maybe on the return trip, we can talk more about it."

With that we were once again on our way, walking through the dark cavern, lit only by the glowing crystals lining the walls, some of the bigger ones blocking the paths. we both followed the professor since neither of us knew the way through the cave and really didn't want to get lost. the Entire cave was devoid of obvious life, most of the creatures presumably hiding out of sight of people or in other parts of the cave. we did walk past a few Ferroseed, their green barbs sticking out of the walls in the cave, though they didn't seem particularly interested in us, I couldn't help but snatch a few scans of them as we walked, however, the atmosphere in the cave was interfering with my dex somehow, causing most of the screen to be unreadable and covered in static so I wasn't able to actually read any of the information I had gained from the scans. Eventually, after what seemed like hours of aimless wandering we had come to an exit, daylight burst forward through the opening in the cave wall.
"Be careful as we exit the cave, the sudden change in electricity can be, shocking if you leave too quickly, just take it one step at a time." came the professor's advice before she herself stepped through, completely disregarding her own advice. Ethan and I glanced at each other before deciding it wasn't worth the risk and exiting the cave slowly. the light as we stepped outside was blinding, causing me to clench my eyes shut for a few moments before slowly opening them once again. as I opened my eyes I could see Mistralton City was upon us, barring the large runway to our left the city was surprisingly quiet, with only a few buildings lining the grass pathways that would eventually lead to Route 7.
"Professor, can we take a break now? I'm exhausted." I groaned, my legs felt like jelly and I could barely hold my pack up anymore. Even Ethan seemed to be reaching his limit by the time we reached the city.
"Just a little further now, there will be plenty of time to rest on our flight, which I do recommend." The professor stated.
"Wait, flight?" Ethan queried with a trace of concern in his voice.
"Well, I guess we're far enough now you may as well know about the point of this little trip." The professor mumbled aloud. "The truth is, I'm taking you both to Kanto for a little activity set up by myself and some of the higher-ups in the pokemon league."
"KANTO?! but that's halfway across the world!" I exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yes, it is, that's why we needed to come here. Mistralton City has the only major airport in Unova."
"Why couldn't you just tell us this earlier?" Ethan asked.
"Easy, I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Now come on, we have a plane to catch." The professor cut the conversation short by heading off towards the plane, with both of us in tow. we both had to run a short while to catch back up. as we got onto the runway a young woman dressed in pilot's clothes intercepted us.
"You two must be with the professor right?" She said with a hint of playfulness in tone. Ethan and I exchanged glances before nodding at the woman. "Right then, this way, we're already behind schedule. you're lucky the professor is a friend of mine or we would have taken off without you," she appeared to be joking, but it was hard to tell. she led us to a small plane, barely big enough for the four of us to ride in. "No point taking one of the big birds just for the three of you." the woman stated indirectly to us. I noticed the sun was starting to set behind the fences on the other side of the runway. we'd spent all day just getting out here and now we had to fly to the other side of the world? talk about a big day.
"Remember what I said?" the professor asks over the engines turning over. "Try to get some rest while we're in the air. there won't be time for it when we touch down again."
"What do you mean?" Ethan's voice cut across the aisle. 
"There will be a lot of work to do when we get to Kanto, and we're already running late."
I put my hand on Ethan's shoulder. "It's probably best we just listen to her. we've already come this far." I told him quietly. he nodded back without saying another word. Not long after we had finished talking the plane lurched forward, jamming us both back into our seats firmly. the movement of the plane caused an uncomfortable sensation in my ears and I couldn't help but hold my eyes shut during takeoff. before long the sensations subsided slightly, and I no longer felt glued to the seat, so I opened my eyes again. 
"Better now?" Ethan jested from the seat next to me.
"And how exactly are you so calm about this?"
"It's not my first time flying Lexi. how do you think I got to Unova in the first place?" I had totally forgotten that Ethan had moved to Aspertia when we were still young.
"I. Oh yeah, 10 years ago right?" I mumbled, embarrassed.
"Bingo," he said back, brushing over the fact I'd forgotten. "Well, 10 years and 4 months now, but close enough." 
"You still remember our old promise?"
"Of course I do. soon as your mom loosens up a little we're gonna take the league by storm okay?" I couldn't help but chuckle at this. ever since we'd become friends we promised each other that we'd become some of the greatest trainers Unova has ever seen, that we'd overcome anything that the world threw at us.
"haha, slow down a little there, we're a long way from the pokemon league yet." 
"Yeah... I guess we are," He stated quietly.
"Hey, professor, how long until we reach Kanto?" I called out
"Should be about 6 hours. but it's only going to be midday by the time we get there," she called back. I looked back at Ethan.
"We probably should try to get some rest then huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so. see ya when we hit the ground then?" 
"Well, it'd be hard not to," I chuckled, quietly.
After that we stopped talking, deciding to take a nap on our way there. for the first time since we got in the air, I fell back into the seat, it was actually really well-cushioned. It wasn't hard to get comfortable and before long I found myself drifting to sleep.

I woke suddenly, a hard THUD jerking me awake. I looked around somewhat frantically before I realised I could feel the ground rolling along beneath the plane, my mind suddenly caught up and the mild panic stopped. I fell back in my seat, tapping Ethan on the shoulder gently, he had somehow slept through the landing. He let out a soft grunt before quietly asking
"We there already?"
"I guess so, the plane just touched down"
"Wonder why the professor decided to fly us to the other side of the world, what do you think this is all about?"
"I have no idea, its exciting though isn't it?"
"Heh, yeah. I guess it is."
Suddenly we were both thrown forward, the plane had stopped. I unclicked my seatbelt and stood up, my legs wobbled after the long time sitting but I regained my balance. grabbing my bag out from the locker above my head before stepping out of the way for Ethan. The pilot had already pulled the door open by the time we had both gotten up, we made our way out of the plane, and down the stairs into what looked like a mostly open field with a small strip of paved ground acting as the runway, barely wide enough to fit the plane we landed in. the professor came down shortly after us, I somehow hadn't noticed until now but she had no luggage with her to speak of. no bag, suitcase or anything, just the coat that she wore almost everywhere.
"It's about time you guys showed up," an unfamiliar voice called out from the other side of the runway
"Sorry, we're late Kaz, ran into a bit of trouble on the way here." The professor called back 
"A bit of trouble? you guys are almost an hour late." I turned around to get a better look at the mystery speaker. It was a tall man dressed in a black pinstriped suit a white t-shirt peeking out through the neckline where his simple black tie dangled. he had short, dark brown hair and pale blue eyes his jawline covered in the fuzz of a close shave. he carried a clipboard and pen in one hand while the other held naught but a half-empty bottle of water. 
"These two your protégés?" He spoke again, gesturing towards me and Ethan.
"Yeah, both up and coming trainers that are yet to embark on their journeys."
"So neither of you are travelling with pokemon yet?" He stared us both down with an intensity I had never seen before. I shook my head, before remembering I still had the professor's Stoutland in my pocket.
"Well, I have a pokemon, but we haven't really travelled anywhere yet," Ethan said quietly
"How long have you been together?" He shot back at Ethan.
"Three months, we haven't even battled another trainer yet."
"I suppose that will be fine, however, I see two pokeballs on your belt. You are a trainer of one correct?" his tone shifted towards accusatory for the last sentence.
"Oh, yeah. right this one isn't mine," he pulled one of the two balls off his belt, tossing it towards the professor. "Catch," he called out. this prompted me to return the pokemon the professor had let me borrow, although I didn't throw it at her, merely handing the ball back after taking a few steps.
"And you, girl. how many are with you?" The man's gaze returned to me.
"None, sir. I don't even have my licence yet."
"Excellent, you'll be perfect for this activity then. Aurea, was there anything else you needed from these two?" He shifted his focus back towards the professor.
"Oh! no no, that's all." She replied clearly a little surprised.
"Right, then let's see you two to your rooms, we have a big day ahead if we're going to get you caught up with the rest."
"I'll catch up with you two later, behave while you're here," the professor called out to us, already getting back on the plane.
"Wait, you're not staying?" I asked her
"Oh, as much as I would love to, I can't much too busy to stay around for long trips like this. I will be checking in on you both as often as I can though," she called back before disappearing into the plane. The man then took both our hands without saying another word as he pulled us off towards a large building visible over the trees just outside the runway's clearing.