Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.
Bryce's destination was the ferry at the Rustboro harbor. He intended to head to Dewford to take on the Gym there. However, to his dismay, he found that the ferry was closed for maintenance for the day.
This was rather annoying, since this meant he wouldn't be able to go to Dewford. And it would be incredibly awkward for him to show up at his family home after he had just exchanged a tear-filled farewell. So he decided to head to Mauville instead. That was, after all, where he had planned to go after Dewford. He figured the small island town could wait a little.
Mauville was quite a distance away, too far to walk in just one afternoon. He'd arrive at around midnight, if he was quick. He could take a taxi, but for some reason that felt like cheating to him. He wanted to walk. So he decided he'd just have to stop at a Pokemon Center in Verdanturf for the night.
He was to head east, down Route 116. You could get to Mauville by heading south, through the Petalburg Woods, Petalburg itself, and Oldale, but Bryce knew that after Oldale you had to cross a river, and he didn't have any Water-type Pokemon. And besides, heading east was a far more direct route.
So here Bryce was, still fresh off his victory against Roxanne, Stone Badge now in his Badge case, walking along Route 116 after a slight change of plans. He was currently thinking about what he'd do if he encountered another Trainer, and they wanted to battle him. Would he avoid them, or would he battle them? He decided in the end that he'd battle them. He and his Pokemon could use the battling experience, and assuming he was stopping at Verdanturf he had all the time in the world.
After a few minutes of walking, Bryce came across a Trainer who was in the middle of applying a Potion to his Pokemon. It took a second for Bryce to recognize said Pokemon, because he'd only seen it a couple of times before, but it was a Porygon-Z. The Trainer tooked...maybe twenty? He had an air of experience, like he knew what he was doing, more so than Bryce at least. He had black hair, and wore a dark grey Trainer's jacket.
Bryce realized he recognized this Trainer. His name was Landon, and he'd been in the most recent Pokemon League. He'd made it to the semifinals, where he'd lost to Wallace what was heralded as one of the greatest battles of Pokemon League history. Unfortunately for Landon, this was because Wallace had somehow pulled off a win despite at one point being down to just his Milotic while Landon still had four. For most, it was the greatest comeback they'd ever seen, but for Landon, it was an egregious choke-job to end all choke-jobs. The Porygon-Z that Bryce was looking at had featured in the battle as well; in fact, it had been arguably Landon's star performer, taking down three of Wallace's Pokemon. It had also been the last of Landon's Pokemon to fall, in what was one of the closest finishes the League had ever seen – the image of Milotic, hanging on with just a sliver of vitality, but victorious, was another reason the battle had become an instant classic.
Wallace, of course, would go on to win the final, before then defeating all of the Elite Four, and then beat the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone. Only to then decline to become the new Champion, instead opting to become a Champion in Essence, because he wanted to remain as the Sootopolis Gym Leader. On this thought, Bryce realized he'd have to challenge the Sootopolis Gym eventually, and that meant a battle with the most recent Pokemon League winner.
Landon got up and headed off the route into the forest, not noticing Bryce. The denser, off-route parts of the Hoennian woods were perceived as dangerous, and suited only for the strongest Trainers. Bryce decided not to follow, instead continuing down the route.
Aside from an encounter with a Whismur in one of the more overgrown parts of the route, Bryce's hike down Route 116 was rather uneventful, and he eventually reached the entrance to the Rusturf Tunnel after an hour or so of walking.
At the entrance stood a rather distraught old man, who beckoned Bryce over.
'We were just out on our walk, Peeko and I, when we were attacked by an odd thug… And then the scoundrel made off with my darling Peeko!' wailed the man. 'He went in there,' he said, pointing to Rusturf Tunnel. 'Can you help me, please?'
'Uh, sure, I'll try to find Peeko for you, sir,' said Bryce, assuming Peeko was a Pokemon. He didn't mind heading into Rusturf Tunnel, considering that was where he was going anyway. The man thanked him enthusiastically, and Bryce headed into the tunnel.
The tunnel was well-lit, thanks to lights on the ceiling. The stone took an odd greenish color, in contrast to the brown exterior of the rock formation. Immediately, there was a sharp right turn, which Bryce rounded.
Bryce moved quickly, thinking that it would be much easier to catch the thug while he was still in the tunnel than if he made it into Verdanturf. However, he soon noticed a problem.
The way was blocked by what appeared to be a cave-in. Piles upon piles of rocks blocked the path, making it impossible to even see over onto the other side. Considering the tunnel hadn't been closed yet, this must have happened just a few minutes ago. Bryce silently hoped nobody had been hurt.
The thug stood there too, trying in vain to move some of the fallen rocks aside. When he heard Bryce approaching, he turned around. Noticing him, the thug said, 'What? Are you coming? Come and get some, then!'
Bryce walked up to him and noticed a Wingull next to him, cowering in fear, seemingly at the cave-in in front of it. Peeko, perhaps?
'Nice Wingull you got there,' said Bryce, trying to keep a conversational tone. 'Where'd you get it?'
The thug, evidently, did not appreciate his cheek, as he immediately snapped. 'Grah, keehaul it all! This hostage Pokemon turned out to be worthless! And to think I made a getaway...into this tunnel to nowhere! And you! Now you're here to battle me. Really?'
Bryce wasn't there to battle him necessarily, but the man nonetheless pulled a Poke Ball from his belt, and sent out a Poochyena. Battling it was, Bryce decided, sending out Ralts.
'Use Bite!' said the thug. Poochyena ran at Ralts, its intentions obvious.
'Dodge it and use Draining Kiss!' ordered Bryce. Ralts was unfortunately unable to dodge the Bite attack, taking damage, but he was able to land the Draining Kiss, which dealt super-effective damage while healing much of the damage done by the Bite attack.
'Use Thunder Fang!' yelled the grunt frantically. Poochyena again charged at Ralts, now with electric sparks visible around its mouth.
'Use Double Team and dodge it!' said Bryce. Ralts did so, and Poochyena became visibly confused at all of the 'copies' of Ralts it was seeing.
'Now use Draining Kiss again!' said Bryce, and Ralts stopped right next to Poochyena, and landed another Draining Kiss, knocking the Poochyena out.
Recalling Poochyena, the thug swore loudly and said, 'Ugh! Is this the end of my evil deeds?!' Bryce managed to not laugh out loud, with considerable effort.
'So,' said Bryce, 'you can hand over the Wingull now, or you can make this harder for yourself.' The oddity of acting like a figure of authority to someone several years older than him was not lost on Bryce. It wasn't lost on the thug either, judging by the look on his face.
It was at this point that Bryce noticed the thug's attire – a blue-and-white striped shirt, a black bandana with a symbol on it that Bryce didn't recognize, and extremely loose, capri-length blue-grey pants – and remembered what he'd seen on the news yesterday. This thug was a member of Team Aqua, one of the two budding 'evil teams' causing trouble across Hoenn.
'Sure, if you want it that badly, you can take it,' said the thug. While Bryce was busy looking at the Wingull, seeing if it was okay, the thug sprinted off. Bryce turned to give chase, but he was already gone. Then, a few seconds later, the old man walked in.
'Peeko! Am I glad to see that you're safe!' said the man, walking to the Wingull and giving it a tight hug. He then turned to Bryce.
'My Peeko owes her life an' freedom to you, lad! They call me Mr. Briney. And you are?'
'I'm Bryce,' said Bryce.
'Well, I sincerely thank you, Bryce! If there's ever a thing I can do to help you in turn, don't you hesitate to tell me. If I'm to be found, it will always be at my cottage by the sea just south of the Petalburg Woods.'
'Thank you, I'll remember that,' said Bryce. The old man headed off.
Now to continue on his journe—oh wait.
He turned around to see that his way to Verdanturf was, in fact, still blocked off. He could hear frantic voices on the other side, but there was no point in trying to talk to whoever was there. Turning around to leave, he realized he was out of options.
But wait – Bryce remembered the name Mr. Briney. He'd heard that name before; again, one of the perks of being so well-off was that you tended to be in-the-know about most things. Didn't he win that fishing contest that one time? Didn't he say he lived by the sea? He must own a boat, right?
It seems Bryce might be headed to Dewford after all.
Bryce had been to the Petalburg Woods before – hell, he just went two days ago – but he'd never gone all the way through it before. It was evening now, and all this walking was getting exhausting. Bryce got jumped by a couple of Wurmples, but he was far more prepared now. He kept his eye open for any Shroomish, but alas, still no luck there.
Eventually, he emerged out onto the other side. It was only a few minutes' walk to Petalburg from here, so Mr. Briney's cottage must be close. Sure enough, he found it in under a minute. He walked up, and knocked on the door, which soon opened.
'Oh, if it isn't Bryce!' said Mr. Briney. 'You're the one who saved my Peeko. Asking for a favor so soon?' He chuckled.
'Yeah,' said Bryce. 'This is weird, but could you take me to Dewford? The ferry's closed.'
'What's that? You want to sail with me?' said Mr. Briney. 'Certainly, that'd be no problem at all. You've come to the right man! Shall we hoist sail for Dewford at once?'
'Sure,' said Bryce, and within minutes they were on Mr. Briney's boat, heading for Dewford. Bryce felt a little awkward about going on a boat with an elderly stranger, but he figured there wasn't much else he could do.
Thankfully, despite Mr. Briney's sail-laden diction, his boat was of the motor-powered variety. As Bryce and Mr. Briney sped across the open sea towards Dewford Island, they had a surprisingly deep conversation about the Gym challenge, and the Pokemon League. Mr. Briney told Bryce that many aspiring Trainers never managed to collect all eight Gym badges, and that only the strongest even made it to the League, let alone get far in the tournament. He said that he would nevertheless support Bryce, should the latter make it in. They watched the sunset, and Bryce realized he'd never seen the sunset in the open ocean before. It was simply beautiful. Bryce reflected on the long day he'd had.
Before long, they arrived at the Dewford Town harbor, which was little more than a modestly-sized public wharf. Bryce had been to most of the cities and towns in Hoenn, but Dewford was one of the few that he hadn't. Much of the town was situated on the vast beach, and there weren't any paved roads, or even any cars, Bryce noted with surprise. It was now dusk, and the town was lit by lamps and torches, as opposed to more modern street lights. There weren't any large buildings; just houses, the Pokemon Center, and the Gym, from what Bryce could see. Although the main harbor was small, almost everyone seemed to have their own private wharf and boat. Looking to the north, he could see the looming silhouette of the Hoenn mainland in the distance. It was quite unlike any town Bryce had ever been to.
'Go to the Pokemon Center, they've got rooms for traveling Trainers to spend the night,' said Mr. Briney. 'I should be off. Do you need me here still?'
'No, I think I'm good,' said Bryce. 'Thanks for the ride!'
'Don't even mention it,' said Mr. Briney. 'Goodbye, then, Bryce! See you in the League!'
'Bye! Trust me, I'll be there!' said Bryce, and Mr. Briney sped off in the boat, leaving Bryce alone at the wharf. It was too late to challenge the Gym, so he headed to the Pokemon Center, which was easy to spot, since it was by far the most modern-looking building in the town.
In stark contrast to the rest of the town, the Pokemon Center's interior was brightly lit with proper lights, and everything looked as modern as Pokemon Centers typically looked. Nurse Joy was standing behind the counter, and greeted him.
'Here for the night?' she asked.
'Yep,' said Bryce, who paid for a room.
'Do you want me to heal up your Pokemon as well?' asked Nurse Joy. Bryce agreed, and she took his Poke Balls and placed them into the high-tech healing machine, which did its work in mere seconds, before handing them back. Bryce thanked her, and headed to his room.
He'd never stayed the night in a Pokemon Center before, and doing so, especially in a town he'd never been to, really drove it home in his brain that he was actually doing this. Those couple of nights, sleeping in his room back in Rustboro, wondering if it was his last night he'd spend there, were over. He was out on his journey now, the 'big day' he was waiting for had happened, and now he was out here, doing what he thought was crazy less than a week ago. Further cementing the new, almost alien feel of the moment was the night sky, as Bryce looked out the window. It was beautiful. All the way out here, in this tiny island town, so far away from the mainland, the cities, the light pollution, there were so many more stars in the sky than Bryce was used to. There was even the faint image of the Milky Way as well.
Bryce again reflected on his day. He'd spent the entirety of it doing one thing or another. He'd gotten up early to prepare for the Gym, then challenged the Gym and earned his first Badge, then said goodbye to his family, then been forced to take multiple detours, saving a man's Pokemon in the process, and now he was in Dewford, preparing to potentially earn his second Gym Badge in as many days.
It was going to be another big day tomorrow.