Awhile later, both me and Salvator were collapsed on the gravel road, one of the many that snaked around Citadark Isle. The shape of the island gave these roads an amazing view of the shining blue sea from all sides. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, giving the azure water a reflection so bright that I had to avert my eyes. The blazing Orre Sun had quickly depleted our energy, and we were both wiping sweat from our foreheads. The short run had also drained all of the after-battle adrenaline from me, but the excitement of potentially becoming a Trainer was still strong as ever.

"Salvator…" I said, still concentrating on slowing down my breathing. "Why in the world are you...still...wearing that duster?"

Salvator, admiring the sea, turned his head towards me. He chuckled.

"Allow me to counter one absurd question with another. Hakins, do you care about Pokemon?"

I shook my head and scoffed, not feeling the need to answer that question again. Salvator cracked a grin and began using his left hand to roll the tips of his moustache between his fingers.

"See? Your love for Pokemon in your mind is so irrefutably unwavering that it seems tone deaf to question, yes?"

He stopped adjusting his moustache.

"And now that you have tasted the pinnacle of connection between Pokemon and Trainer, you will pursue your newly empowered dream alongside Pokemon. The same goes for this." Salvator straightened out his duster using both hands. I stared at it, noting the torn and restitched parts and wondering how those came to be.

"While quite rudimentary, this article of clothing symbolizes reaching the pinnacle of my craft as a SIM Master. Although it is true that this is simply a duster, Hakins, it is a part of my story." He smiled warmly. "Just as our battle will be a part of yours."

I pondered what he said for a moment, looking down at the numerous shades of black in the small rocks that made up the road. Then I began to chuckle. I slowly lost control and began to laugh out loud. Salvator looked at me quizzically, clearly confused.

"Um…Hakins?" he began, standing up. After a moment of silence, and a coughing spurt that finally settled me down, he spoke again.

"I have never claimed to understand all of the humor of teenagers, so I will say candidly that I am puzzled as to why you think that's so funny. I was honest when I spoke of this duster's value to me." Salvator held his left elbow in his right hand, stroking his protruding facial hair. This was clearly confusing him, as he was doing his iconic thinking posture.

"You know why I'm laughing Salvator?" I finally said. I cracked a grin as the SIM master's gaze snapped back to me, desperate for an answer. He gestured for me to go on.

"Let's be honest here. You wear that to look cool, don't you?

I looked to him for a reaction, but instead saw him looking away from me and towards the direction that led to the SIM center, running his hands through his slicked-back hair anxiously.

"Hakins, what are you doing still sitting on this road?" he said, his gaze still averted from mine. "We should make haste for the Center of Simulations. Or would you rather halt your journey for as long as humanly possible to broach such an absurd question?"

At saying this, he began to walk down the road towards the center. I quickly got up and jogged to catch up to him, the gravel crunching beneath my feet and mingling with the soft sound of the water below.

There was silence as we made our way back, until the awkwardness of it all finally got to Salvator.

"Yes, Hakins." he said, sighing as he spoke. "This duster is…aesthetically pleasing."

"Knew it." I said, rolling the sleeves of my shirt up to cool myself off.

"If you hadn't spent the last few months failing 2D simulations, I might've garnered the enthusiasm to commend you for that." Salvator replied, shooting me a smirk. "Now, let's get you situated."

And with that, the rest of our walk was spent talking about the amazing world of Pokemon and the traits that made them awesome.

…

Sometime later, we were back within the cool confines of the SIM lab, inside of Salvator's SIM room. I was sitting in one of the chairs adorning the SIM chamber, sitting backwards on it to place my head in my arms, which were perched on the back. I liked the feel of these chairs. Agate Mahogany was the best kind of wood found in the primarily desert Orre region. It was also incredibly comfortable.

I watched with narrowed eyes as Salvator rummaged through the filing cabinets on the other side of the room. I generally settled into the rhythm of all of the noises. The sounds of electricity running through the facility were quieted but noticeable. The closing and opening of disorganized filing cabinets produced the satisfying sounds of basic machinery at work and the clanging of objects.

My attention was brought back when Salvator sauntered back over, dragging one of the file drawers with him. After smoothing out his moustache, he spoke.

"I apologize for the ruckus, Hakins. I received these from Professor Krane quite some time ago, and then I realized that I did not really need such equipment in my lab, so I considered selling it. And then I promptly resumed to misplace it on that day. Oh, I remember the panic that set over me-"

He turned to me, and saw the nervous energy that made my right leg bounce and my body shudder.

"Oh, that's all irrelevant though, isn't it?" he adjusted his duster sheepishly. "Point is I am glad that these are still here. The equipment in this drawer shall be perfect for your journey, the starting point of which I will get to later. Alright, let's begin with…"

Salvator rummaged through the drawer. I held back a sneeze from the dust, and could smell the "new" quality of the well-preserved items. Seconds later, the SIM master pulled out a small electronic device, about the size of my Xbox controller but far more narrow. I carefully took it from his hands. Two lights, both green and blue, flashed from its cover. I knew straight away that it was-

"Whoa! An actual Pokedex? No way!" I proclaimed, my entire body seeming to vibrate with excitement.

"Correct." Salvator replied with a smile. "I'm glad to see that you appreciate the wonders of this device as much as I do. I believe that you are at the age to really use the Pokedex to its fullest potential. Now, thanks to the many trainers of other regions and the collaboration between professors, this is a complete Pokedex. Unfortunately, due to the Shadow Incidents of old, no real studies of the region's Pokemon have been conducted thoroughly. What we do know, however, is quite exciting."

The incredibly tall SIM instructor stood up, clearly becoming elated just by explaining this.

"There has been a stir around the region in the past few years; a plethora of independent eyewitness testimonies that were recently compiled through a census from Krane Laboratories. Within weeks, we were hearing about hundreds of new Pokemon being sighted throughout Orre. At least 50 from each region have been documented. I predict that soon our region will be visited by rookie trainers in search of an exciting journey of their own sometime in the future. As it stands now though, our more "down and dirty" sectors in the desert have spoiled the appeal."

He seemed to calm down at saying this.

"For now though, you will have a fascinating experience compared to most trainers in Orre, who have normally brought their own Pokemon from other regions in search of battles. You, on the other hand, will get to experience the burst of wild Pokemon in Orre firsthand. Which brings me to the next two items that you will be receiving."

After carefully placing the Pokedex in my backpack, I looked up again to see Salvator's hands outstretched with more items.

"Ok. Please hold out your hands."

I did as instructed.

"First off, here is a PDA. I know that the technology is a little older than what you're used to, but it is a reliable tool in the field. It can receive and send messages without the need for satellite connection, while sporting a battery that is solar rechargeable. This particular PDA has an electronic item storage system, which allows you to store items in cyberspace."

He noticed the confused look on my face, and nodded.

"Cyberspace is the area where items are digitized, and able to summoned in seconds with the press of a button. Keep in mind that the items should be, at the largest, the circumference of your two hands intertwined. Additionally, your PDA has one of the highest definition lenses to support holographic transmissions from long distance. I upgraded this particular tool so that you can send me photos of your findings. For strictly scientific purposes, of course."

I rubbed my fingers over the PDA in my hand. It's perfect condition came as a surprise, given that production was cut over two years ago following the introduction of smartphones. I placed this in my bag as well. In Salvator's other hand were six Poke Balls, one of them being an oddly alluring black with an amber capsule edge.

"Salvator?" I asked, "What is this Poke Ball here? It's quite cool looking, actually."

Salvator gave me an approving nod. I felt more appreciated by Salvator than I ever had doing SIMs with him prior. It was clear that he enjoyed the theatrics of my journey as much as I did.

"That, Hakins, is a Luxury Ball. Out in the desert wastelands, a Pokemon that you might want could exhibit excessive amounts of aggression towards you, and the Luxury Ball specializes in calming these Pokemon down, and making them a little more friendly towards you once you send them back out."

I thought about it for a moment.

"That doesn't seem right. It almost sounds like sedating a Pokemon. If it's going to be aggressive then isn't there surely a more humane way of dealing with it?"

Salvator grinned.

"Spoken like a true Trainer, Hakins. But I would suggest that you hold onto it. You never know what diversities might come at you during your journey. Now, let's talk about where you will begin your Pokemon adventure, shall we?"

He gestured towards a map of Orre on the wall. I watched as he scanned the list of locations with his finger, seeming to be searching for one in particular. Eventually, he firmly pointed on a spot seemingly in the middle of the desert.

"Here! Hakins, you will journey to the Traveller's Oasis. It was once a small spot where bait was necessary to acquire Pokemon, but thanks to conservation efforts, it has now become a sizable tropical ecosystem in the middle of the desolate wasteland. The Oasis is run by a few volunteers throughout the region, but recent electromagnetic abnormalities have made contact between these folks and the labs around the region impossible. So you will also be helping us by corresponding with them, and delivering us updates via your PDA. Do not despair about this additional favor, though. You'll just check in with us once you get there, so I can speak with the man who runs the Oasis."

"Us?" I asked. "I didn't know Battle SIM folk were so involved with Professors."

Salvator gave Hakins a smile that seemed to hold a lot of history.

"Battle SIM technicians may not be, but I am." he said, confidently running his hand through his hair.

I looked to the map he was pointing to, trying to get an idea of how far away this place was.

If Gateon is there, and Citadark is there... I thought, squinting my eyes with effort. Oh shit, that's like...

"Ok, one more question:" I said. "How the hell am I supposed to get all the way out there on my own? That's gotta be well over a day of travel."

Salvator stroked his preposterous moustache.

"Rest assured you will not have navigate the wasteland alone. An old friend of mine will help take you to the Traveller's Oasis, and he should be getting here any minute to talk you through the logistics. Him and I were rebels back in the day of the First Shadow Incident, and together we purged all of the remnants of Cipher from the crooked streets of the Under. I was the brains, and this man-"

"Was the brawn!"

One of the solid metal doors burst open, slamming against the wall its hinges were attached to. I shouted, startled by this sudden entry. From the main hall, a man walked in. Although, describing him as a man simply wouldn't do him justice.

He towered as tall as Salvator, but had a very muscular physique. He was adorned in an outfit that hodge-podged apocalyptic brown leather wear and various sashes and belts. Over these, he wore a sleeveless heavy brown coat with dirty white fur on the hood. He wore heavy duty combat pants and fingerless gloves, with combat boots tied up high. The belt on his waist contained two Poke Balls, and I didn't even want to imagine the terrifying creatures within them. His outfit showed small amounts of skin in many areas, suggesting that it had undergone a variety of death-defying situations. His exposed arms were littered with scars. The lower half of his face was covered by a thick brown beard, and I found a pair of sharp icy blue eyes sizing me up. Atop his head, he wore a dark grey ushanka.

Overall, he was terrifying to be near. That is, until he uttered a hearty, deep laugh. Salvator, seeing the busted door, sighed.

"My old friend," the SIM master said, voice muffled from his head being in his hands. "My chamber doors barely work due to the last two times that I've had to replace these. For all that is sacred to you, have some discipline and knock! And this veneer of machismo is beyond exhausting. Gah, you're unbelievable!"

The room fell quiet. Salvator turned to me, and let out another heavy sigh.

"My apologies for the outburst." the SIM Master said, muttering something about damages under his breath and clearing his throat. "Hakins, I would like you to meet Sergei. He is my most trusted friend, and he will provide you with the transportation required to reach your destination. Sergei, you may take it from here."

The mountain of a man accepted my polite handshake with crushing strength. As he saw the unpleasant look on my face, he let loose a deep laugh.

"Hyello Hakins!" he said in a heavy Russian accent.

He paused for a moment.

"Ok. Introductions out of the way, here's the plan." he walked to the back of the room, in front of the map.

"I have a boat waiting for us down at the Citadark Docks. From there, we will ride to Gateon Port, where I have a vehicle parked. A friend of mine will take care of the boat, and we will drive straight into the desert, where the Traveller's Oasis lies. The trip will be about a day and a half of travel, if we keep good pace and steer clear of nonsense. Be ready to leave tomorrow morning, as I expect you at the docks by 8."

I felt a realization occur to me that felt obvious in hindsight.

"Sergei, I'd like to take somebody else along with me to the Oasis. He lives in Gateon Port, and he'll be sure to stay out of trouble."

Sergei ran his hand through his beard for a moment, his icy blue eyes straining as he thought about it. A moment later, he smiled.

"Alright! The more the merrier, ah? So, who will we be taking with us?"

"His name his Dustin," I replied. "He's a good friend of mine, and he's wanted to get out of Gateon for awhile now. He might want to catch some Pokemon too."

"Sounds great," Salvator added. "Experiences with Pokemon are always strengthened when alongside others."

He approached me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Now that everything is planned out, you should really be getting back home, Hakins. Try to get a good night's sleep, and contact your friend. Make sure he is ready to meet you once you get to the truck, and no later. I do hate to delay you any longer from going out there and meeting your future Pokemon partner, but there are other preparations to be made."

Salvator and Sergei followed me out, and I stayed quiet as they caught up with each other. As we exited the SIM building, the sun was just beginning its descent.

I was ready to begin the run home, but stopped for a moment. I turned to Salvator and his massive friend, and gave each of them a nod.

"I know that you didn't have to do any of this for me, and I know that I didn't make easy for you, Salvator. I'm grateful for this opportunity, and I'm looking forward to showing you that your faith in me is well placed." I said.

Sergei gave Salvator a firm pat on the back.

"You were right about this one, my friend." he said approvingly. "I think this one has real potential!"

Salvator chuckled, and turned to me.

"The journey you will take through the desert will test your mettle. We shall see just how far your passion will take you. Unfortunately, I will not be able to see you off in the morning, so I wish you the best of luck on your adventure."

"Tha-" I began

"Because you will certainly need it." Salvator finished.

I scoffed, unable to formulate a good response. So instead, I waved goodbye to the two of them, and sprinted home, envelope in one hand, granola bar in the other, and the items fit for a trainer bouncing around in my bag.

Here we go, I thought to myself. Things are about to get a lot more interesting.