Pokemon - Hoenn Hero!
Episode 1 – Sayonara Sootopolis City!
It was another beautiful day in Sootopolis City! The sun was shining, the water was crystal clear and not a cloud in the sky! There are many buildings in Sootopolis but our story leads us to one home in particular…
"Good morning Sootopolis!"
A loud voice emerged from an open window on this particular house. A head popped out of the window as the hero of our story made her debut. She had shoulder length blonde hair, bold blue eyes and a beautiful smile. Having just woken up though, her appearance was not quite as glorious as it normally was. She gazed out of her window at the beauty of Sootopolis City in the morning.
The island was surrounded by a ring of rock, at least a hundred feet high. Within the giant ring of rock, most of it was sea water but with a large portion filled with land. Hundreds of buildings sat atop the land showing that Sootopolis truly was a bustling city, despite its location of being in the middle of the ocean of Hoenn.
The sun reflected off of the sea and onto the houses across from her. With the house being built on high land, she could get a great view from her bedroom window. She could see many water pokemon swimming around in the water as well as some trainers on land training hard. Being the home of the Sootopolis City Gym, many trainers came through to battle the gym leader, Juan.
She got to see many different types of pokemon and pokemon trainers during her life on the island. But as miraculous as the island was, her thoughts took her away to distant places, some of which she had seen pictures of. She admired the beauty of things in the world, and as such has a desire to travel. Coming back into reality she let out a sigh. After briefly sulking she perked up again after hearing an all too familiar voice – the voice of her mother.
"Marina! Breakfast's ready!" shouted the voice. It was a soothing voice that mellowed the hearts of all…especially useful when settling disputes within the house!
Marina grabbed a brush, straightened out her beautiful hair and ran downstairs. Approaching the dining room she saw her brothers were already up and awake. Her father was also at the table which was a nice sight to see since he was usually up at his research lab. Looking to the kitchen her mother turned round to smile at her and hand her a bowl of cereal.
"Good morning dear! Did you sleep well?" Her usual optimistic attitude brought a smile to Marina's face.
"Yeah I slept great! There's nothing like the sight of Sootopolis to inspire you in the morning!" Marina grew up to try and have the same optimism and cheeriness as her mother. Marina took her cereal and went to sit down at the table. "Morning guys!"
"Morning!" The three males at the table said in unison. Her older brother was busy munching away at his breakfast. He had always been on the stocky side but it always gave Marina the perfect insults when they got into arguments as she could always make fun of his weight seeing how the rest of the family were thin and fit. Her older brother's name was Rainier. He had been serious about getting into pokemon training for some time and desperately wanted to go out on a pokemon journey. He had many tapes of the Hoenn League so he could study the pokemon carefully and the types of attacks the trainers told them to use. His knowledge of pokemon was quite good, although not brilliant.
Rainier was slightly taller than Marina, being a year older than her. He always wore his favourite outfit – a pale blue t-shirt with green lining, his baggy brown shorts and his favourite accessory was his blue and green gloves that were missing the fingers to stop his hands from getting too hot. He had wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. He sometimes seemed intimidating but was generally quite a soft person inside. He always enjoyed bragging and outperforming his siblings.
Marina's other brother was Dewey, a short kid only five years old. He had big blue puppy-dog eyes that he liked to use to get out of trouble. He had short, light brown hair and was normally wearing his shorts and t-shirt with pokeball designs on them. The final male at the table was Marina's father, Walter. He was a pokemon researcher but focused only on water pokemon. Walter would normally spend all his time at his coastal laboratory where he would study many water types. With lots of equipment and water vehicles, Walter was usually away from Sootopolis City frequently on trips to observe water pokemon in the wild. He wore a long, white lab coat that came just past the knees and some dull-coloured clothes underneath. He had brown eyes similar to Rainier's but they were always covered with his glasses. His hair was jet-black but started to show a few grey hairs.
Marina's mother sat down at the table with her breakfast too. "Walter, honey? Didn't you have something to tell the kids?" she asked. Walter pulled himself away from the paper he was reading. "Hmm? Ah, yes! How would you kids like to join me at the lab today to see all the water pokemon?"
The three kids stared at each other before answering. They couldn't believe that their father had actually invited them to come with him. They had only been to his lab about twice in their entire lifetime.
Dewey was the first to answer. "Yay! I wanna see all the pokemon!"
"Wow, really? I'd love to spend some time with you!" Marina was more pleased at the thought of being able to hang out with her father.
"Well that would be a cool experience and I can learn more about the water pokemon you've got down there!" Rainier wanted to improve his knowledge of pokemon.
"Then it's settled! We leave after breakfast!" Walter smiled and buried his head back in his newspaper again. A smile swept across everybody's faces like it was contagious as everyone got excited about their day. Marina's thoughts wandered again as she thought of all the places her father probably got to visit and wondered if she'd be able to go with him.
As soon as breakfast was over, Marina dashed upstairs to get dressed. She wore her absolute favourite outfit. She had an orange tank top, a bright green dress with a blue stripe along the bottom and she wore her brown and pink sandals. Running downstairs she saw that everyone was ready to leave. Walter left first and got his car ready for everyone to climb into. He had a jeep which he used for carting around large pieces of equipment. There was nothing inside of it so there was plenty of room for the kids.
Rainier, with his desire to always be the first, called shotgun and leapt into the front passenger seat next to Walter. Dewey sighed with disappointment and climbed into the back seat with Marina close behind. She didn't mind that Rainier had the front seat. She was used to this kind of behaviour and realised that there are some things which don't need to be competed for…the front seat of the car being one of them.
As they drove by, Marina looked at the sights around the city. Some of the buildings in this particular area of the city were beautifully painted. She caught the famous building in town that had been decorated by a group of Smeargle. She knew in her mind that pokemon were glorious creatures and had admired them for some time now. She adored the cute pokemon but also thought that having tough pokemon was cool too. Rainier was pleased about driving past the Sootopolis Gym. As soon as he saw it he pointed it out to everyone making it blatantly obvious. Marina had gotten sick of him pointing out the gym whenever they went past it in life that she immediately zoned out.
The trip seemed to take forever with Marina eager to see the research lab. After they finally reached it she sat back in her seat to stare at the building before getting out of the jeep. The research lab was almost completely walled with windows, making it look like a greenhouse. Half of the lab was built on land, with a large portion in the water. It was in that part of the lab that Walter could study the local water pokemon through the glass walls.
"Marina! Marina! Come on let's go!" Dewey tugged on her arm. Marina realised that while she had been staring at the lab the boys had already left the jeep. Marina was still strapped in and blushed in embarrassment. "Oops! Sorry!" She unbuckled herself and caught up with Rainier and her Dad who were already at the doors to the lab. As Marina stepped inside the lab she once again went into a state of staring at everything. Lots of equipment decorated the walls, computers dotted the room, some of which had men and women in lab coats using them.
"Here's my team of researchers, some of whom you have met before." Walter introduced his team to his children. Some of them turned round to wave at the kids while some were so involved with their work that they didn't move. Walter was the head researcher and founder of the marine research lab so he was the boss of the whole lab. He pulled out a key card with his photo on it.
"Let's go into the underwater lab and my personal office shall we?" He flashed the card to the kids and swiped it into a nearby card slot. A set of thick water-tight metallic doors opened and Walter led the three kids into the underwater lab. Dewey hadn't seen much technology before so he was completely amazed at the concept.
"This is an exclusive area of the lab, only accessible to myself and a couple of my assistants." Marina was the last of the group to walk through the water-tight doors which shut abruptly as soon as she stepped through them. The platform they were standing on suddenly shifted as the kids realised they were in an elevator. Slowly heading down with a lot of noise, the elevator finally came to a halt. Another set of metallic doors slid into view and opened to reveal the underwater lab. It was much bigger than they would have imagined. More windows lined the walls which gave the perfect view underwater. Dewey ran to the glass windows to look at the pokemon swimming around outside. There were more computers in this part of the lab, but what took up the most room was the water tanks which had pokemon inside of them with sensors attached to them.
"What are all those weird wires attached to those pokemon?" Marina asked.
"Those are sensors that detect a pokemon's body temperature, mood and brain waves to name a few things. We use them to see how these water pokemon react to different things. Rainier walked past all of the tanks, naming the pokemon in them as he went past. Marina didn't like how he was trying to show off. Marina looked at some of the computer terminals which had bizarre readings and charts, none of which made sense.
"Dad? Why are these monitors on? There's no one else here is there?" Marina looked around to check.
"Hmm…Wade? Are you in here?" Walter shouted loudly. A splash of water made Marina jump. She turned around to see someone climb out of one of the water tanks. He was wearing a scuba diving set. As he climbed out he removed his mouth-piece to speak.
"Hi Professor. What's up?"
"Wade, I'd like you to meet my three kids. This is Rainier, Marina and little Dewey is over there." Walter pointed to each of his kids as he introduced them. "Kids? This is my main assistant, Wade."
Wade removed his wetsuit and was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt. He grabbed a lab coat off of a nearby coat rack and sorted himself out. "Hey kids, welcome to the underwater lab!"
"Wade is one of the top researchers here at the lab and knows a lot about water pokemon!"
"But nowhere near as much as you, Professor!" Wade tried to flatter Walter. "Did you bring them here to give them their…ya know…" Wade winked at the Professor.
"Shh!" Walter quickly replied. "Yes I have! Don't spoil the surprise!" Rainier turned round to look at his father. He became suspicious…was his father planning something? "Feel free to look around the lab, kids. Wade and I have work to do." Walter decided to leave his kids to explore the lab. Dewey went back to looking at the water pokemon through the window. A Magikarp swam by and stared at Dewey. The way Dewey stared at it with his mouth gaping open, it almost seemed like the Magikarp's reflection.
Rainier decided to fiddle around on one of the computers. He had found a program with information on the water pokemon held at the lab. He flicked through the information and learned some of the attacks that the water pokemon could perform. Marina was busy walking around looking at everything. She saw an interesting looking machine with a spherical-shaped slot embedded in the centre of the base. "Hey Wade, what's this machine?" Now sitting only a few feet away from her she decided to ask him. Wade swivelled round on his chair to see what she was looking at.
"That's a pokeball transport system. It's used when we need to send or receive pokeballs from far away. Sometimes we get sent water pokemon from other water pokemon research labs around the world and sometimes we send some to them."
"Wow!" Marina didn't realise such a machine existed. Behind the machine was a series of racks that had pokeballs in them. They had labels on each rack. One was labelled "Lilycove Research Lab". Marina assumed that these pokeballs had been sent from the Lilycove Research Lab. As she looked across to the other racks she saw a rack with a photograph of her face on it, and next to it, one with Rainier's face. The racks were empty but Marina was still puzzled as to why her and Rainer's faces were on them.
"Dad! Hey, Dad! What's this?" Walter was busy with a notepad, writing notes on a Seaking inside one of the water tanks. He looked up to see Marina was standing in front of the pokeball racks. His eyes widened as he realised she had made a discovery that he wanted kept secret for a little while longer.
"Oh no…" Walter let out a sigh. "I was hoping to tell you this a little later today but I guess I've got no choice to tell you now. Rainer! Dewey! Come over here for a second!" Dewey broke away from staring at the Magikarp and Rainier stopped looking at one of the terminals. Walter and his kids gathered round the pokeball storage racks.
"Now…Rainer, I know you've been studying pokemon in your free time a lot lately. And Marina, I know you've been wanting to travel and see the world…So, I decided I'd finally let you have your very own pokemon! Now you can both go on a pokemon journey!"
Marina and Rainier both turned their heads to look at each other and opened their mouths as wide as they could go. They couldn't believe what they had just heard! "Are you serious!" Rainier was close to shouting with excitement.
"Very serious." Walter answered with a proud smile. I want you to get out and see the world, train some pokemon and make the most of your lives! I decided to give you each a water pokemon that I obtained on my research expeditions."
Dewey tugged on his father's lab coat. "What about me, Daddy?" Can't I go on a pokemon journey?" He flared up his big puppy-dog eyes again at his father. "No, Dewey you're still in school and besides, you're too young to go out pokemon training! But that doesn't mean you're missing out! I will still give you a water pokemon, but you will have to keep it as a pet. Feel free to train it and battle any trainers in Sootopolis you wish, but you can't leave on a journey for a few years yet!"
Deep down Dewey was upset, but he was happy that he was going to get a pokemon for himself. Walter reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out three pokeballs. He picked the first one out with his other hand and threw it into the air. The pokeball opened with a burst of light and a water pokemon with a horn on its head, its tongue sticking out and a large tail appeared.
"Seel! Seel!" The pokemon exclaimed.
"Wow, a Seel!" Rainier knew what it was, he had seen one before and of course he had seen it in books.
"That's right Rainier, and it's your pokemon from now on!" Walter handed the empty pokeball to Rainier. He stared at it on his hand. He had never handled a pokeball before. Walter took the second pokeball and opened it. A much smaller pokemon appeared. It was blue in appearance with a large fin on its head.
"Dewey, this is your pokemon, Mudkip!" Walter kneeled down to pat it on the head. Dewey squatted down to look at it. He laughed with excitement at it. "Wow, a Mudkip!" He smiled at it, and it smiled back.
"Kip! Mudkip!" its voice was so cute that Dewey couldn't refrain from hugging it. Marina clenched her teeth and her fists in anticipation. She knew the final pokeball had a pokemon for her in it! Walter pressed the button on the final pokeball and it increased in size. Gently throwing the pokeball in the air, it opened to reveal Marina's pokemon. Walter caught the pokeball now that it had opened. Marina's pokemon was a spherical one that looked quite cute. Marina was pleased that her pokemon was cute. She loved cute pokemon!
"Spheal! Spheal!" Marina's pokemon clapped it's hands in excitement.
"And Marina, this is your pokemon, Spheal!" Walter said, handing her the pokeball. Marina patted it on the head.
"I like it! It's so cool!" Marina smiled at her father thankfully. Rainier pointed his pokeball at Seel and recalled it into its pokeball. He had seen trainers do it all the time but it felt good to finally do it himself. After he did, he pressed the button the pokeball and it shrank back down to miniature size which he then slipped into his pocket. Marina watched him and did the same for her Spheal. Dewey loved his pokemon so much that he didn't want to recall it so he picked it up and carried it in his arms.
"Ok, now we have to get to all the technical stuff!" Walter readjusted his glasses. "As you both may or may not know, you can only carry six pokemon at a time. Any others will be transported elsewhere for safekeeping. I've decided to let you two use the pokeball storage racks I have behind you to store your pokemon. Whenever you need to switch pokemon, you just call me up and I can use the pokeball transporter to exchange pokemon with you! I've already ordered a pokedex for you Rainier, and you Marina. You'll need to register at the pokemon centre and you can pick them up from there as well as the extra pokeballs you'll need. I know we haven't been here long but i'm guessing you're itching to sort out all the details right now aren't you?"
Walter took a short breather to see Marina quickly and excitedly nodding her head up and down with a smile showing. Rainier was slightly calmer about it and smiled back at his dad.
"Ok then, let's go! Wade? I'll leave you in charge as always while I'm gone! I'll be back later!" Walter shouted to his assistant whose eyes were glued to his computer monitor. Wade stuck his thumb up at Walter but didn't say anything. He was far too busy in his research to look away from the screen! Walter swiped his card in the slot by the door and the family left together at once.
On the journey to the pokemon centre, Marina was so excited to be going on a pokemon journey that she couldn't help but let out a loud yell of excitement that scared Dewey out of his wits. She was also eager to see the inside of the Sootopolis City pokemon centre for the first time. She'd seen it before from her bedroom window although it was quite far off to see it clearly. As the jeep pulled up to the pokemon centre, Marina was surprised that it was much bigger than she thought it would be. For a change, Marina beat Rainier to the doors and raced into the pokemon centre. Her shoulders hit the automatic doors as she raced inside, not letting them open fully.
Inside the pokemon centre, the lobby looked huge. There were a few trainers looking after their pokemon of all different types and sizes. Dewey went around the place looking at everyone else's pokemon and tried to brag about how great his was. He was a hit with the ladies who thought he was adorable, but most of the male trainers were not so welcoming. One trainer in particular wasn't convinced that Dewey's Mudkip was better than his Blastoise!
Walter went straight to the counter to see Nurse Joy handing back six pokeballs to a young girl. She looked up at Walter and smiled at him.
"Good day, Professor Mare! How are you today?" Her smile and positive attitude seemed even bigger than his wife's…a statistic he found hard to believe!
"Hello Nurse Joy! Are the two pokedex units I ordered ready?" He smiled back at her. Was he being polite or was he showing signs of flirting with her?
"They certainly are! The package arrived two days ago! Is today the day your children are starting off as pokemon trainers?"
"Yes it certainly is today!" This is Rainier behind me and Marina is…uh…Oh there she is, looking at the video phones. Marina! Come over here!" Walter yelled across the lobby to Marina who was watching a telephone call take place although it was certainly none of her business. She turned round and rushed towards the front desk to see what her father wanted.
"Phew! What's up?" Marina caught her breath. Although she was thin, she wasn't really very fit. Nurse Joy had disappeared temporarily, or so Walter thought until she came back into the lobby with a cardboard box. She delicately opened the box to find it filled with Styrofoam packaging. She put her hands in and found something inside of it. It was a small, handheld electronical device in a sort of oval shape. It had a big button on the left hand side of the cover. She pulled out another, seemingly identical to the other.
Nurse Joy pressed some keys on her computer monitor at lightning fast speed. An enormous computer monitor slowly dropped down behind her. Attached to the bottom of the monitor was what looked like a camera.
"Ok now, smile!" Nurse Joy chuckled. Rainier posed for his picture and a bright flash confirmed that his picture had been taken. Marina didn't know what to do in her picture so she just showed a little smile. Another bright flash occurred as Marina had her picture taken. Nurse Joy fiddled around on her computer for a few moments more and the two beginning trainers looked up in awe at the giant monitor. Their pictures both appeared next to each other with their names underneath – Rainier Mare and Marina Mare. Shortly afterwards a large "OK!" sign filled the screen. The screen then went blank as the monitor retracted into the ceiling where it came from.
"Ok then, and which storage facility will you be registering with?" Nurse Joy asked. Marina opened her mouth like a fish and stared blankly at Nurse Joy. She didn't have a clue what she was talking about.
"Uh, they'll both be registering with my research lab, Nurse Joy." Walter stepped in to prevent his daughter from looking like a fool!
Nurse Joy nodded and pressed some more keys on her computer. She took a pokedex and slipped it into a slot in the computer and then did the same with the other. Nurse Joy's smile hadn't vanished at all while they had been there. It seemed almost scary to Marina! Nurse Joy picked up each pokedex in turn and handed one to Rainier and the other to Marina.
"Here you are! I'm happy to report that you're both now fully registered! I hope you enjoy your pokemon journeys and have a safe time! And before I forget, I have something else for you!" Nurse Joy picked up a large box from under the counter and picked up six pokeballs which she handed to Marina. She then picked up another six from the box and handed them to Rainier.
"Here you are, these are your pokeballs! When you catch a seventh pokemon it will be transported to your father's lab and an empty pokeball will be automatically transported to you as a replacement!" Nurse Joy informed them. Marina was amazed at the technology involved in pokeball management.
"And your pokedex will give you detailed information on any pokemon you encounter as well as information on the kinds of attacks it can use! Just press the button on the front to activate the pokedex! It also serves as your ID which you may need to show at times during your journeys. All I can say now is good luck and take good care of your pokemon! My relatives at the other pokemon centres around the world will be more than happy to heal your pokemon when they are hurt or tired. Now have fun!" Nurse Joy nodded at them and had finally finished all she had to say.
"Ok kids, we'll have a farewell dinner tonight and tomorrow you can both leave on your pokemon journeys! Deal?" Walter had planned this day in advance. His wife had also been planning a lovely dinner for their departure.
"Sure Dad, that sounds fine to me! We both need time to pack anyway!" Rainier wanted to prepare for his journey. He knew in his head exactly what he wanted to bring as he had thought about this for a long time. Walter called Dewey over and the four of them went back home.
Several hours had passed and Marina was sitting in her room. She had her backpack all ready although she couldn't pack everything she had wanted as it wouldn't have fit inside! She now realised what her father meant when they got home about packing lightly. But she had no idea she had to pack this lightly! Having finished packing, she wondered where she was going to keep her pokeballs for easy access.
Changing into a pair of jeans, she took off her skirt and decided to get creative with it. She took some of her refrigerator magnets off of the fridge (while staying out of the way of her mother's cooking!) and took them upstairs. She ripped off the actual magnets and managed to attach them to her skirt. She tested out her new skirt. She placed the miniature pokeballs onto the magnets and they stayed there perfectly. She was pleased at her new outfit and the magnets were hardly recognisable. The last pokeball she attached to her skirt was Spheal's. As she attached it, she decided to take it back off again and let out her pokemon. Spheal materialised in front of her and clapped its hands.
"Spheal! Spheal!" it cried.
"Hey there Spheal! How's it going? We're going to be leaving on a pokemon journey tomorrow. Doesn't that sound fun?" Marina was talking to it cutely like it was a baby. Spheal clapped its hands again in agreement. Marina had a thought and grabbed the pokedex out of her bag. She pushed the button on the front and sure enough it opened to reveal a little screen. The cover had flipped round and was now at the back of the pokedex. She pointed it at Spheal and its picture appeared on it. Marina jumped as a feminine voice came from the pokedex.
"Spheal, the Clap Pokemon. Spheal can easily endure cold temperatures without feeling them due to its fur. This makes Spheal a rare pokemon that can sometimes only be found in the coldest of regions." The pokedex informed Marina. Marina was amazed at the capabilities of this little electronic device. She folded the cover back over and placed the pokedex back in her bag. She pointed Spheal's pokeball at it and returned it into its pokeball.
"Sorry Spheal, it's nearly time for dinner. We'll get to know each other better in the morning when we leave together!" Marina straightened herself out and went downstairs to get ready for dinner. An enormous feast had been laid out on the table. There were only five people in the family, but it seemed like far too much food for them to eat. Marina jumped into her usual seat at the table and tucked her napkin into the top of her tank top. Everyone else was at the table too, except for her mother who was still in the kitchen preparing the last piece of food. She entered shortly afterwards with a plate of burgers and placed them onto the last remaining spot on the table.
"Dig in everybody!" She said as she finally took her seat. Rainier grabbed the plates with his favourite food on it first and started piling food on his own plate. Marina had great metabolism so she grabbed lots of food too. She could work it off easily anyway now that she was going on a journey. Everybody started munching on their food except for Marina's mother who shed a few tears knowing that her oldest kids were leaving home. Walter had plans of giving them pokemon just over a year ago but she asked him to hold it off for a while as she didn't like the thought of them leaving.
Dewey's Mudkip was in the corner eating some pokemon food that Walter had prepared. He knew exactly what water pokemon like Mudkip liked to eat. Mrs Mare had shaken off her sadness and decided to question her kids.
"So kids, what pokemon did you get from your father?" She asked. She struggled to keep her tears hidden.
"Dad gave me a Seel!" Rainier boasted. "It's the best one!" Marina looked up and gave him an evil look.
"What are you talking about? It's my Spheal that's the best pokemon!" She argued back.
"Honey, you gave them both the same pokemon?" Mrs Mare asked. Walter was disappointed in his wife for asking that question. They were two very different pokemon, but with similar names. Still, he was an expert and she had little involvement with pokemon so she was perfectly entitled to ask stupid questions like that.
"No dear…Rainier got a SEEL and Marina got a SPHEAL. They're both different pokemon!" He corrected. The way he answered made her feel inferior.
"Yeah and mine's the best!" Rainier yelled.
"What? Everyone knows my Mudkip is the best one!" Dewey tried to argue with his brother. He always tried his hardest to win arguments with Rainier since they had them quite often.
"Kids! Kids! Calm down, they all have unique abilities that makes it difficult to determine which is the best!" Walter used his pokemon knowledge to make a quick finish to the argument. Everyone calmed down as silence struck the table.
"So what are you going to do while you're out there Marina?" Mrs Mare asked her only daughter. Marina stopped and looked to the ceiling in thought.
"Hmm…I'm not sure actually…I was just going to travel and meet lots of interesting people and see lots of beautiful places! And to make as many pokemon friends as I can!" Marina tried her best at answering the question. She had no idea what her goals were on her journey but she felt she had answered the question well enough.
"Well I'm going to battle gym leaders and enter the Hoenn League! My goal is to become a powerful trainer!" Rainier decided to butt in even though he hadn't been asked.
"That's nice honey!" Mrs Mare acknowledged her son to please him and also to keep him quiet. She didn't want another argument to break out. Walter grabbed his glass and stood up.
"Here's to Rainier and Marina! May you both do us proud in whatever you choose to do! And have a fantastic pokemon journey!" Walter gave a quick but powerful speech. The others raised their glasses too.
The night rushed by particularly quickly for Marina. She thought she would have trouble sleeping but didn't have any problems. Morning came along and Marina was woken up by the sunlight hitting her window. Being in Sootopolis, the ring of rock meant that the sun didn't hit the houses until a little later in the day than most places around the world. She leapt out of bed full of energy and grabbed her clothes. After getting dressed she ran downstairs and put her arms through the straps of her backpack. Just as the morning before, she was last down to breakfast with everyone else already seated.
"Good morning dear! Ready for this exciting day?" Mrs Mare asked. She handed her a bowl of cereal which she started eating before she had even sat down at the table. There was silence at the table again. Marina and Rainier had too much on their minds. As soon as breakfast was over, everybody assembled outside ready to climb into the jeep. Walter had a camera on a tripod in front of them. He wanted a picture of the family before Rainier and Marina left. Setting the timer on the camera, he ran to join the rest of his family who all put on a big smile for the photograph.
Walter drove the family down to Sootopolis City Port. Walter handed a ticket to both Marina and Rainier. They both had a picture of a ship on them which matched the one they could both see at the end of the pier. A gentle breeze blew as Marina and Rainier both looked at their family. Marina felt sad that she had to say goodbye for a while. She had never been away from her family for more than a day. Walter was first to say goodbye. He walked up to Marina first and hugged her.
"Be good my little girl. I'm going to miss you. But don't forget you can always reach me by phone. You'll need to contact me at the lab anyway to exchange pokemon." He handed her a slip of paper with the number for his laboratory on it. He then stepped over to Rainier and patted him on the shoulder and then shook his hand.
"And good luck Rainier. I know you'll do me proud. Your competitive spirit will get you through times of hardship. Take care." He handed Rainier a similar piece of paper as he did to Marina. Walter stepped back and Mrs Mare was next to say goodbye. She had a small package wrapped in foil in each hand. She handed one to each of her oldest kids. It was their lunch for later. She then gave Marina a hug.
"Take care my little angel! I know I'll miss you terribly! Don't forget that you're always welcome home and we'll always love you!" Mrs Mare shed some more tears and Marina was struggling to keep back her own. She then went to hug Rainier.
"Rainier? I know you'll be busy with your pokemon journey, but if you ever get some free time on your hands, don't forget to call in at home! It would mean the world to me!" Crying some more she lifted her head from her son's shoulders and attempted to wipe off the tears on his shirt. Dewey was last to say goodbye. He looked up at Rainier and gave him a hug round his waist.
"With you gone, I won't have anyone to play video games with!" Dewey looked at his feet in sadness. Rainier knelt down and put his hand on Dewey's shoulder. Dewey raised his head to look Rainier dead in the eyes.
"Don't worry, squirt! With a new Mudkip, you'll want to spend all your time playing with it instead of playing games! If you train up that Mudkip, next time I see you we can have a pokemon battle! That's like a real video game!" Dewey smiled back at Rainier. He had said exactly the right thing to cheer him up. Dewey walked up to Marina and looked up at her with his flaring puppy-dog eyes again.
"Aww…come here…" Marina knelt down to give him a hug. "When I come back home I can show you all the cute pokemon I'll have caught! How does that sound? You like playing with Mudkip so I'm sure you'll love playing with more cute pokemon!"
"Yay! Ok, it's a deal!" Dewey stepped back to join his mother and father. Marina and Rainier both waved goodbye and walked towards the ship.
"Goodbye Mom! Goodbye Dad! Bye Dewey! I love you all!" Marina shouted back. The attendant at the ship's entrance hurried them on board as the ship was waiting to set sail. Marina and Rainier ran to the back of the deck to wave goodbye again. After a minute or two the ship started moving. Other people were at the back of the ship waving at their own families.
As the ship started to speed up, Marina and Rainier waved goodbye, as did their family. The ship had travelled quite far away from the pier now so their family seemed really small. Rainier sat back and relaxed while Marina continued to wave until they were out of sight. The ship sailed through a large tunnel that went straight through the ring of rock that surrounded Sootopolis and the trainers were now officially starting their pokemon journeys!
And so…As the ship sails out of Sootopolis City, Marina and Rainier both head off into Hoenn to meet many pokemon, battle many trainers and to strive to be the best they can be. Will they succeed? Only time will tell!