His journey hadn’t even properly started yet, and already Charlie’s feet were just about killing him. 

It wasn’t quite noon when he reached the Avance Trail exit from Santalune Forest; but nonetheless, the young man debated opening up the food he’d packed and starting on lunch as he sat on the small grassy bank at the mouth of the forest, taking deep breaths as several beads of sweat slowly worked their way down his forehead. He’d got up early to make it to Aquacorde Town from Lumiose City without hurrying himself along; but between the shady darkness of the forest, the remaining humidity from the other day’s downpour and the the sounds of early-morning wild Pokémon activity, he’d arrived slightly worse for wear than he would have liked. 

Though, truth be told, he realized he likely didn’t have much to be worried about in regards to the last of those; whilst he was starting his journey as a true Pokémon trainer today, the hiss and tart stench of gas nearby him almost served as a reminder that he wouldn’t be selecting a starter.

“J-just a little longer, Phil.” Looking up, Charlie saw the ball of ectoplasm floating in the late morning sunlight a short way away from him; and smiled as the Gastly turned to face him, his eyes glinting with more excitement than his own trainer had. “Aquacorde’s just over that bridge down there.”

In contrast to the human, the Gastly travelling with him seemed far less perturbed by the journey; the lack of legs turning to lead and a host of bugs, birds and monkeys to blast with gas on the way down certainly helped in that regard. As he caught sight of Charlie sitting by the grass at the forest’s entrance, the Ghost-type floated down towards him and let out a soft hiss as he waited for his Trainer to cool down and catch his breath. 

The last time they’d been in this area was when Charlie had come out to find a certain rock that was supposed to be in the forest; but instead encountered one of Professor Apple’s aides as that wild goose chase led him straight out the other side from where he’d came. The man’s demeanour had been… well, Charlie distinctly remembered how uncomfortable he’d felt as he’d come face-to-face with the stranger almost the very moment he’d given up on his search. But that’s when he’d been given the opportunity of a lifetime; whatever his prospects of becoming a successful trainer and researcher had been the day before, the chance to go on a journey under the supervision of Professor Apple herself elevated them almost tenfold. Charlie knew well how much of a soft touch he appeared to others; but he also knew well that he’d be a fool to turn the offer to join down.

If only he could turn down the feeling of being a second choice. The aide had been more than happy to emphasize that he’d be replacing a boy who’d canceled his place on the journey. 

Another hiss from Phil distracted him from those thoughts. Right, time was getting on and he didn’t want to be late; besides, after the sprawling monstrosity that had been Santalune Forest, Avance Trail left him only a few hundred or so metres from the bridge to Aquacorde Town. 

“We’ll eat when we get there, I guess?” With that, he nodded to the impatient Gastly and got back up to his feet, wasting no more time in starting the walk towards the bridge. “If we’re not too late, I hear there are some nice cafés in Aquacorde?” 

Phil hardly needed any more encouragement; within a few minutes, the two were crossing over the river to the town, speeding up a little bit at the prospect of spending time in an actual human settlement after their long journey down from Lumiose City. The view they were afforded of the beautiful town in the late morning sun didn’t disappoint; but whilst Phil darted off somewhere to look around, Charlie turned as he caught sight of what they’d came for out the corner of his eye.

“S-sorry I’m a little late!” He said as he picked up the pace and made a beeline for the group he could see gathering by a café table a short distance from the riverbed. He couldn’t help but be slightly embarrassed as he saw the four other children gathered, but he soon pushed that out of his mind as he saw the most distinguished of the people present at the table. 

“Thank you for having me, Professor.” He said, as he crossed the distance from the end of the bridge to the gathering group; as he came face to face with Professor Apple.