The small sea ferry cruised across the ocean, kicking up salty spray that flew back toward Kanto, where the ship set off from. On deck, passengers mingled and discussed their plans once they arrived at Feron Grove, the destination city in the Amalei Region.
"It's gonna be weird doing something else than adventuring and training Pokémon," said Ash, wiping some of the droplets that landed on his short black hair. He put his red trainer cap back on his head and glanced to the left. "Isn't it?"
Nobody stood to his left. Ash was so used to talking to Pikachu, his beloved partner and friend. The dynamic electric mouse was back at Professor Oak's laboratory, along with all of his other Pokémon. So many travels and hardships and now he stood with none of his companion creatures. So did three of his best friends.
"Yeah," said a soft feminine voice. Misty Williams placed her hand on Ash's shoulder. Her orange ponytail and yellow athletic shirt seemed to glow in contrast to the dark, overcast atmosphere that enveloped them. "But it'll be refreshing to have some time to ourselves for a change."
Tracey Sketchit nodded, looking up from his drawing pad; he was working on the drawing of a Garchomp on one page and adding to a page of notes detailing its biological statistics on the other. "Plus, the school program the professor wants us to go in will really help us to succeed outside of the Pokémon world."
"Yup. And we'll all be together!" added Brock Harrison, their oldest and tallest friend.
"Except when you chase all the girls," Ash said, he and the others bursting into laughter.
At that moment, the captain's voice sounded from the intercom. "Attention all passengers! We will be arriving at the Amalei Region in fifteen minutes."
The four teens walked to the front of the ship to see their new home up for the first time, a large, green mass of land coming into view. A light drizzle began to fall to earth as the ship carried forward.
In the wheelhouse, the captain kept his eyes on course and his ears attuned to the news on the radio. The newscaster was breaking some news regarding the latest space expedition to the moon.
"Here is the latest update from the space shuttle Avenger's lunar mission. The astronauts have just come back into contact with mission control and they say things are definitely out of the ordinary. As soon as they landed, the communications equipment went haywire, but they were able to let them know that they were doing fine. The astronauts say they came across a large rounded object in a nearby crater while they were trying to repair the equipment; upon further inspection, the men said the object appeared to be some kind of can or receptacle, brown with ancient-looking markings. As soon as they touched it, red light exploded from the can, followed by what they call "demonic laughter" and the trembling of the surface. The astronauts retreated and are on their way back to Earth. We at NPR will continue to monitor this bizarre situation and provide updates as they come."