A man on stage paces back and forth before a large crowd. A grey hood obscuring all but a faint smile upon his face. "You all have reason to live, yes?" He speaks smugly as he paces. "But as everyone knows, life is not infinite...in fact, it is depressingly short." A few people in the crowd seem to be agreeing with the strange man and lean in to hear what he has to say. "Yes, yes...so short is life. But, this is why I have come here today." The man says as his smile grows slightly. "What if I could tell you, that your lives don't have to come to such an abrupt end, that immortality is a possibility!" Some members in the crowd stare skeptically while others grow even more interested. "Many of you are likely to scoff at my words, and rightly so. What I say sounds mad! Impossible! Absolutely foolish!" The smile becomes a firm frown as the man stops his pacing and turns to the crowd. "But you are wrong, I am with a group of people that plan to make this fool's dream a reality. Not just that, but we have a way to do it!" The man's confidence seems to radiate towards the crowd as many of them stand and begin to cheer. "Of course, it isn't something that can be easily achieved. Many think our methods are extreme, our plans terrifying, and our goal unreachable. These nonbelievers selfishly deny our ascension to immortality merely to satisfy their morals!" The man points off stage as a group of people dressed in black drag a tied up man with a bag over his head between the aisles. "These monsters would deny you, your Pokemon, and even your children eternal life. Allow me to show you the face of our adversaries!" The hooded man rips the bag off of the tied man's face- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ian cut off the TV. Something about that speech simply made him sick. The rocking of the sea certainly didn't help either. A loud ding resounded throughout the ship. "Attention all passengers, we will be arriving in Windshire shortly." The captain announced over the intercom. "Please prepare to depart." Ian was thankful that the long voyage was almost finished and that he would once again be on land. Sneasel actually elected to stay in her pokeball for the majority of the trip, which had made the days of travel fairly lonely. In less than an hour, the boat docked in the town that was fittingly called Windshire. The wind turbines that dotted the area gave the town a sense of modernity despite the rustic looking buildings. The crisp fall air had just a slight nip in it signifying the nearing winter. As Ian walked off of the boat, he noticed a tall man with a Goodra. The man fit the description of professor Tsuga, slightly disheveled and carrying a bag of gear that Ian presumed was the gear his grandparents had asked for. The man quickly approached and tossed the gear to Ian. "I'm very sorry I can't stay and introduce you to the region, Ian, but I have a very busy schedule today. There are many other trainers arriving today and I'll be meeting them all in the lab." Tsuga pointed at a large building with a pokeball in the center. "If you don't mind stopping by in about an hour, I'll be asking the other trainers to meet there." "Okay?" Ian said as the man rushed off. He wasn't even sure how the man knew who he was immediately, but it didn't really matter. As confused as he was by the whole interaction, he had at least gotten what he came for.