"Hey, watch where the hell you're going!"

A terrified shiver rolled down my spine as I quickly attempted to swerve out of the woman's way in panic, my bike crunching the nearby grass as it toppled to the ground. Rubbing the wrist that I fell on nervously, I slowly got up, wincing.

Though bicycles were a pretty popular means of transportation throughout the regions, I hadn't been used to the sport being practically worshipped in Cyllage City, Kalos, much less being yelled at for getting close to another vehicle. At this point, I couldn't really tell whether or not the people here really liked fitness or just hated foreigners, considering the fact that I had only arrived in Lumiose City via airplane last night. In fact, I didn't really know much about this place at all, considering that my choosing to travel here was a rather impulsive affair.

I looked around me, noting the grey clouds that were beginning to form in the previously bright sky. The aforementioned woman was a little ways in front of me; her left hand was on her hip, and there was a bottle of pop in her right. She had a slight frown splayed across her face, but was looking at me as if she wasn't done talking. I walked over, rearranging the top of my trousers with a free hand, and smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, sorry about that," she began, her eyes glinting with what seemed to be guilt. "I figured that since you managed to find yourself on the grass, you're not accustomed to riding here. You're new to Kalos, aren't you?"

A quiet, uncomfortable chuckle seemed to escape me.

"Yeah, I am, actually. My name's Colbert, call me Colby - I was assigned to Kalos in order to investigate the events related to Team Flare and Geosenge Town."

In reality, there was a whole lot more to it - the case against the famous Malva of the Elite Four for possible crimes against humanity, the controversy about whether or not Lysandre had killed himself, the real question on why Team Flare was founded, and how they accomplished building the secret base in the first place - I was summoned to be a part of the forensic team to learn the answers to these questions, among others. But we weren't allowed to explain these things to the public, and I had to bite my tongue to try and hold back my enthusiasm for this job.

Regardless, it seemed to be enough for the person across from me.

"Ah. My name's Aliénor, but feel free to call me Allie, most people do." She had a light Kalosian accent that was almost undetectable, perhaps not what you'd expect from someone with such an exotic name.

"If it helps any, you can have this soda pop. I have a lot more with me; I often sell it here," she said with growing confidence, nodding towards a small cooler beside her.

"Consider it a carbonated apology, for scaring you."

I nodded, and thanked her, noting to myself that Kalos wasn't much like the calm gardens and dirt pathways of Solaceon Town, Sinnoh. I pressed the chilled bottle against the growing bruise on my wrist in an attempt to relieve myself of the pain, and sighed happily from the cold.

I guess you could say this was going to be a wild ride.