Pokémon Journey: Hoenn

Chapter 1: Sunrise on the Hoenn Region

8:49am, 31st March 2006

A strong, cold breeze blew across the deck of the white ferry as it cruised through the waves. Despite the cold, there was scarcely a cloud in the sky and the sun shone down gently. The sea sparkled in the sunshine, the only sounds being the cries of wild pokémon flying overhead and those from the ship itself – the distant rumbling of the engines, the splash as it moved through the water. The salty scent of the sea hung in the air, not oppressively, but enough to be clearly noticeable.

For most people, today was a pleasant spring day like any other. After a long, cold winter, it was starting to warm up once again. However, the return of spring also meant something more exciting for the countless pokémon trainers living across the world: after the autumn and winter off (for most of them) it was finally time for them to set off on their new adventures.

This was the case for James Burton, an eleven-year-old boy from Pallet Town in the Kanto region. Having spent his first year as a trainer travelling around both his home region and the nearby Sevii Islands, competing in the Kanto League along the way, he'd now set his sights on the distant Hoenn region.

The wind ruffled his short, slightly scruffy, brown hair as he lent on the railings at the side of the deck. He'd been on board since the ship left Vermilion City the previous morning and, after a restless night of trying to get some sleep, he'd woken up early and decided to head up on deck to wait for Hoenn to come into view. However, just his light blue jeans and mid-green T-shirt hadn't been enough to keep him warm in the chilly early morning air and he'd had to briefly return to his cabin to pull on his regal blue zip-up hoodie. Of course, it was still pretty cold. He tugged the zip on his hoodie all the way up to the top and buried his chin in it.

"Ah!" He leaned forwards, straining his blue eyes as he caught sight of something on the horizon. Slowly but surely, the green of distant trees became clearer. As he watched the land get closer, James noticed a flock of small birds covered with white feathers soaring above the sea, calling out to one another and occasionally diving down towards the water's surface in search of food. He instinctively pulled out his Pokédex and attempted to scan the pokémon, but they were well out of range. Still, the mere fact that he was looking at pokémon which he'd never seen before was enough to excite him. They'd finally reached the Hoenn region!

Pulling back from the railings, James turned and started walking back towards the interior of the ship. They might be passing by Hoenn right now, but they were still quite a way from their destination. He reckoned that it would be another couple of hours before they arrived. Before then, he had to have breakfast and make sure all of his things were packed up. And, of course…

"…You still haven't gotten up?" James let out a sigh as he opened the door to his cabin and caught sight of his distinctly not-active companion.

"Just five more minutes…" his companion mumbled in reply. He'd bundled himself up in his duvet so effectively that only the top of his blondish brown hair could be seen peeking out.

"It's nine o'clock now!" James insisted. "They're going to start serving breakfast!"

"We can eat later…"

"We've already reached Hoenn! We only have a couple of hours before we land!"

"Uggh!"

"Come on, don't just lie there!" James walked over and started prodding him.

"…Alright! I get it!" There was a rustling sound as his companion pulled back the duvet and forced himself to sit up. He stared blearily into space for a couple of seconds before letting out a big yawn.

"I don't know how you were able to get to sleep so easily, Richard," James sighed. "It's like you're not excited at all!"

"I am excited," Richard Winter replied. "Just not this early in the morning."