[center][h3][b]Lilycove City -> Route 121: Mt. Pyre Docks[/b][/h3][/center]

Ian smiled gently at the receptionist allowing her to complete, what seemed like, her much-rehearsed spiel before taking the paperwork and thanking her immensely for the help. Folding the brochures and placing it into his back pocket brought a surge of security through Ian as he made his way toward a sign marked "PokeStation." His left arm began folding up the sleeve of his right to reveal a watch-shaped device wrapped securely around his right wrist. To the untrained eye this seemed no more than a wrist-watch, but upon closer inspection, the screen was extended making the shape more elliptical, and scratches could be seen covering the entirety of the device, which was predominately black with strips of white marking the edges.

The HoloWatch was given to Ian upon completion of his first gym battle as a reward for his victory and was one of his most prized possessions. His attachment to the older model that he was wearing and the memory of Eevee fighting with the entirely of his strength made it impossible for Ian to even think about replacing it for the more popular HoloWatch 2.0 that currently dominated Unova. Upon reaching the Pokestation, his fingers pressed gently upon the HoloWatch screen bringing the device to life and creating a holographic screen bearing the company logo for a moment before vanishing and being replaced by a standard starting screen.  A few flicks through the air with his free hand's finger brought up a Menu screen, which disappeared and was replaced with the floating word "Sync?" Confirming his decision with another push, the words transformed into a circle and filled in with color to reveal a Pokeball. The ball shook gently as if attempting to capture a wild Pokemon, causing Ian to smile at the charm of the device.

One... Two... Three... DING! The Pokeball stopped moving and vanished once again as the Pokestation screen presented Ian with a list of options including Heal, Shop, PokeBucks, UPDATE DEVICE, and Disconnect. Pressing upon Shop, the screen changed, and Ian's eyes began scrolling through a list of items ranging from Potions to Repels and began refilling his supplies. Several Hyper Potions, Revives, Ultra Balls, and Pokebucks later, Ian disconnected himself from the device and pulled up the digital map he had obtained. 

"Well, Kabutops..." Ian muttered softly toward the Pokeballs hanging at his waist. "I suppose there is no better place to find strong Pokemon than a Pokemon Gym. Let's just hope we can make it in time for that Ferry." Retrieving the list of ferry schedules from his back pocket, Ian scrolled through the list and found the time for the next ferry toward Mt. Pyre and gasped in shock. "Only an hour away?!" Ian stuffed the paper back into his pocket and began making his way through the crowd back and back into the street outside of the department store. It felt as if the crowds had doubled in size while he was inside and a sense of panicked urgency surged through him and drove him to begin pushing through the crowd toward what the attendant had identified as Route 121. 

The crowds seemed to thin as he reached the outskirts of Lilycove City and the roads were instead littered with street vendors attempting to push their merchandise that wasn't welcome on the main strip of shops. Ian jogged through the street, occasionally being forced to dodge past some of the more determined salespeople, and stopped with slight gasps for breath escaping him as the sign marked Route 121 appeared. He glanced down at the HoloWatch and took note of the amount of time he had left.

"Damn... this is going to be close." He muttered through his now calming breath and gazed past the gate toward the path beyond. It seemed to have been made to lead directly toward the docks with a small border gate blocking rows of thick trees leading into the wilderness of Hoenn. Slight movement could be seen through the branches indicating a lively collection of Pokemon surrounding him. Ian reached for his waist and retrieved the three Pokeballs hanging at his side revealing his partners in a flash of red light.

Jolteon and Kabutops took the chance to stretch gently before changing their gaze to match Ian's while Gengar floated overhead rolling back and forth in the air with excitement. 

"Are you guys ready? First step toward our new journey, we promised we would take it together." He whispered gently toward his partners and a smile traced his lips. The sense of excitement and nervousness coursed in waves throughout his body causing goose bumps to appear across his arm. "Let's go."

With the words the group was off, Ian internally blessing his own athletic ability as his body erupted into a swift jog with the rest of his Pokemon following suit. Jolteon and Kabutops took off as if they were blurs, a sense of competition sparking between them as Gengar floated in circles around his trainer clapping and laughing hysterically. Ian knew that they didn't have long to reach the port before the boat was going to leave yet his mind could only focus on how amazing it felt to be out with his Pokemon on a new journey. Memories of the countless hours he spent imagining his battle against the great legends of Hoenn rushed through his head and anticipation sparked his energy. 

Ian pushed just a little harder, and his movements turned into a run. He forced himself to move as fast as his muscles could take him as images of Jolteon and Kabutops running alongside him with Gengar overhead filled his mind, chasing some unknown foe they were destined to capture. He knew he had to be strong for them just as they wanted to be strong for him. Ian felt his limit approaching as his partners appeared into his sights watching him and waiting for him to catch up before running too far ahead. The glare Kabutops was giving Jolteon made it clear who the winner of their small race had been and Ian couldn't help but laugh through his gasps for breath as he approached them.

"We are going to make it just in time for the ferry," Ian muttered, wiping sweat from his forehead, as his eyes met with a building alongside the road that had been the reason for his Pokemon stopping. The building seemed as if it was beautiful once and had paintings of various Pokemon strewn across the walls that had begun to fade with time.  Ian's body moved closer toward the building as he swatted away vines that had started to grow down from the roof and made his way toward the door. A sign marked "Do Not Enter" hung crookedly and covered a title plate for the building on a door that had been marked with scratched words. Ian leaned closer and inspected the words wiping away dust to read what they said.

"You aren't welcome here."

"Respect my Pokemon you monsters."

"This is a site for recovery! Not business!"

Ian stared at the words and could feel the malice that seemed to radiate off the very markings themselves. His eyes returned to the Do Not Enter sign and moved it aside to reveal the true title of the building: Safari Zone. There had always been rumors of other regions having zones dedicated solely to catching Pokemon, and this building must have been the remnants of the Hoenn Safari Zone. The building was very cleverly placed, surrounded on both sides by thick trees it created a natural boundary dividing the main roads and the former safari grounds. Ian walked away from the entrance and toward the side of the building and found, hidden amongst the trees, a dark fence. The thought of rare Pokemon being trapped behind this building crossed his mind even though he knew how ridiculous of an idea it would be to try and keep the Pokemon trapped. Most probably abandoned the site when the staff did and settled into the nearby surroundings or relocated alongside the Safari Zone itself, was it perhaps somewhere else in Hoenn now?

Ian turned away from the gate and his eyes made contact with the reason for the Safari Zone's failure in the distance: Mt. Pyre. A quick glance at his HoloWatch verified he had a few minutes remaining before having to be on board ferry and left the Pokemon Safari behind for the docks in the distance. Life had returned now that he had arrived at the docks with various groups of other people standing alongside the ferry in preparation for departure. The numbers weren't staggering as if they were in Lilycove, but it seemed a combination of trainers, those wishing to share their respects to the Pokemon of Mt. Pyre, and ferry attendants caused a gentle hum of energy to flow through the area. Ian turned toward his Pokemon and nodded slightly, which seemed to indicate for the others to group in closer as the four joined the queue of passengers.