Pokémon: Mysteries of Hisui

Chapter I | Ancestry.no

Rei is a ridiculous name.

No one could convince me otherwise. It sounded more like a nickname than it did an actual name. Most of the time, I was asked what it was short for, or if I was a "little ray of sunshine." It got old real fast that I begged my parents to change it before I turned ten. The last thing I wanted to see on my Trainer ID when I embarked on my journey was the name "Rei Carter" written in bold letters for everyone to see. Yet, when the day came, I had no choice but to have it on there.

My parents claimed that the name held meaning, that it was a claim to our lineage or something like that. It was a bunch of BS if you asked me because most of my family members barely had any information on the guy. So, why would they name me Rei?

Because of this, I usually went by my middle name, Everly. Only, whenever I came home to take a break from my journey, all everyone ever called me was by that name. Everyone, including—

"Rei!"

I turned around, knowing it was only a matter of time. I just wished it was more than one minute of stepping foot into my hometown of Sandgem Town.

Moreso, I wish I wasn't recognized by the only person I considered my rival, Jaiden. Guess when he was the only other kid my age in town, it was only fate that he'd become my rival, but still.

His smile grew when he knew he caught my attention, but I could only grimace when I noticed his newly evolved partner towering over him. The leaves on her shell were providing him shade even as he stood up.

"I heard you finally got your hands on that third ribbon," the boy acknowledged, sounding genuinely happy for me, but I knew better. It was only a matter of time before something changed.

That was how it always worked.

"I did," I confirmed. "And next week, I'm going to get my hands on that fourth ribbon in Jubilife City."

Jaiden snickered. "Not if I can get my hands on it first," he claimed, grabbing something from his back pocket before opening it up. In his ribbon case were four well kept ribbons. Each one more beautiful than the last. "It'd be the last ribbon I need to make it to the Grand Festival. Can you believe it? It'd only take me one year to actually make it. How many years have you been working on your contest skills?"

It took everything inside of me not to lash out on him. Despite being rivals, we never had the same goal in mind. The only reason we were rivals was because we started our journey on the same day. While Jaiden took the route most new Trainers would by earning every Gym Badge to try to become the next Champion, I wanted to do something less dangerous. I mean, who's idea was it to send a Pokémon out into battle, only for them to faint? It was barbaric!

No, I took the more reasonable approach and have been striving to become the next Top Coordinator. Only problem was that I've only won three ribbons in the past five years. In my defense, the first year, I was just learning how to show off my Pokémon's moves without having them hurt the other Pokémon. I didn't like it, but I learned that if I didn't let my Pokémon throw offensive attacks, they'd usually end up fainting before the time ran out. There was nothing I loathed more than seeing my Pokémon get hurt.

At least I never had to worry about running into Jaiden during those contests, but there he was with his four ribbons in perfect conditions. There was only one reason he'd enter contests.

Despite knowing why, I still had to ask.

"Since when did you enter contests?" I asked.

Jaiden pushed his brunet hair out of his eyes as he leaned back on his giant grass-type starter. "After landing in the top four in the Sinnoh League last year, I thought it'd be best to take a break and try something different. Apparently, we're really good at it, aren't we, Terra?"