A Journey's Link

Chapter 9 - Rustboro

"Blaziken, return!"

May held up her Pokeball and a red light enveloped Blaziken, who was worn out from all the hard training for the Rustboro City Contest they had the next day. Both May and Serena had already packed their bags for the trip the day before, so they were ready to leave at a moment's notice.

Serena also returned Braixen, who was equally as worn out, but still ready to win. As Serena put her Pokeball away, she checked her Rotom phone, which she had received from May's father, and nearly dropped it as she read the time.

"Oh no! May!" Serena frantically exclaimed, running towards the door preemptively. "We have to be at the airport in ten minutes!" She ran inside and quickly grabbed her bags in a panic, worried they would miss their flight.

May also shared Serena's panic and rushed to gather all of her belongings. Before they knew it, they were both saying goodbye to May's parents and began running down the street toward the location of their next contest.

They arrived at the airport, both of their faces flustered from exhaustion. They confirmed their flight with the tickets and quickly found their flight gate. Finding their seats just as the gate was closing, both girls sighed in relief.

"That was close, Serena," May said in between breaths. "We got so caught up in practicing we almost missed our flight." Serena nodded, then giggled at how distracted they managed to get. She rummaged through her bag, looking for a certain item to listen to some music. "Ah-ha! Here it is!" she exclaimed, pulling out a magazine that spoke of the recent news in Contests.

Serena was about to begin reading when she saw a faint light peeking through the things in her backpack. She wasn't sure what it was; maybe in her desperate attempts at grabbing her bags, she must've accidentally brought something else along. That can't be the case, she told herself. I packed these bags and made sure everything was in order.

May glanced over Serena's shoulder and noticed the glowing as well. "What did you bring?" She asked, peering into the bag. "Why is your bag glowing?" She pointed at the light, which was a dark and deep red color.

"I'm not sure what it is," Serena said, reaching into her bag. She grabbed the object, revealing it to both of the Coordinators. It was in the shape of a diamond and had a fire pattern on it. "Is it some sort of jewel?" May asked as Serena held the crystal; it radiated a warm feeling throughout her palm as she held it.

May touched the crystal, feeling its warmth. "Maybe it's some sort of shard?" she guessed, removing her hand from the heated surface. They both had no clue what the object they were holding was, but something about it felt imposing to Serena. "Maybe you should just put it away for now. We'll deal with it once we get to Rustboro City," May suggested.

Serena warily agreed, placing the mysterious crystal back into her bag. May brought out a book titled Dystopian Found and stared out the window, looking out into the ocean below. She always has been into reading, Serena thought to herself as she browsed through the pictures of recent Contests that had been occurring all over the different regions.

As Serena flipped the pages, she got lost in the different outfits and moves that were displayed on each page; each Coordinator was so different in their moves, yet she found herself loving each one individually. Her engrossment was suddenly interrupted when May began tapping incessantly on her shoulder.

"What?" Serena asked, slightly annoyed at the intrusion. May sighed and repeated what she had tried to tell Serena. "The airplane is landing in 5 minutes; we should pack our bags." Serena was surprised at how submersed into the time-wasting activity she was, but still got to work and packed up her belongings.