Author's Note: Sorry about how long it took to get this up, but you'll probably need to get used to it. This will probably happen again at least once. Since I haven't played Colosseum in a while, and don't particularly feel like playing it all over again, please tell me if you see any glaring errors with anything. Thanks.
Uchina: Thanks. This is really just my first posted fanfic, not really my first one. But it seems like it in some ways. While there will be animé references, there will be no Ash. Although I agree that Wes could beat Ash any day.
Infinite Freedom: Yes and probably not. Just keep reading.
Wes's mind started to drift off as he steered the bike across the desert. It was quite monotonous, really, with only the occasional rock formation to break the endless sand. It had been quite a while since he had gone to Agate and seen Eagun and Beluh. Rui would be there too, he realized. She was going to stay in Orre for a year with her grandparents, and it had only been eleven months since she arrived. Rui... She was an interesting person. He had figured out pretty quickly that she wasn't from Orre, but hadn't figured out from where until he had asked...
It had been the end of the first day of their adventure. They had figured out that in order to find out any more about the mysterious 'Shadow Pokémon', they had to enter a colosseum challenge. Unfortunately, there wouldn't be one until the next day. Wes would have preferred sleeping outside near his bike - no need to pay for rooms of doubtful quality, it would discourage thieves, and he could see the stars. But he doubted Rui would like that, so he went to the hotel. The receptionist had informed them there was only one room, but had said with a wink "that would probably be fine by you, anyways." Rui's eyes had widened with panic at this, obviously wondering if it was a good idea to stay with her 'knight in shining armor', but he ignored her and paid. She had relaxed a bit when they reached the cramped and dirty room and Wes just flopped down on the floor, not even taking off the Snag Machine. However, that look quickly changed to one of discomfort. Wes quickly interpreted it, and rolled over, burying his face in his arms.
"All right. You can get changed or do whatever you need to. I won't look."
"Thanks. But it won't be necessary for long... I'm not sure what happened to my stuff when those creeps kidnaped me." Then there was rustling, obviously her getting ready. After a bit of rustling, there was the creak of bed springs. A moment passed.
"Are you all right sleeping on the floor like that?" Wes was touched by her concern, but dismissed it.
"Yeah. I've slept in worse places. But I've been meaning to ask you... Where are you from?" There was a moment of silence.
"How could you tell I wasn't from Orre?" Wes chuckled.
"It's easy. You didn't recognize Phenac, you forgave me for being part of Snagem, you were traveling alone with no Pokémon but went to Pyrite anyways, and you have an accent." Another pause as Rui digested this information.
"You're quite observant. I'm from Kanto." Wes's mind reached back to his admittedly sparse geography lessons.
"Kanto... That's the one east of Johto, with the famed Indigo League that a whole bunch of trainers brag about beating, right?" Wes heard a partially stifled giggle.
"Yes, that's it. I didn't know trainers bragged about beating it."
"Yeah. A lot of trainers who just arrived will be all 'I beat the Indigo League, the hardest and best league in the world! Your pathetic colosseums mean nothing to me!' ...Most of them get trounced." Another giggle.
"I doubt most of them actually ever beat the League." Wes thought about this.
"True. But what are you doing here? I got the impression from those trainers that Kantonians were all stuck up and regarded Orre as pathetic."
"True, most do... But I'm here to visit someone." Wes decided not to pursue that particular topic.
"That explains the traveling alone. But with no Pokémon?"
"Not everyone is a Pokémon Trainer." There was a certain tenseness to her voice as she said that, so Wes didn't say anything for a bit. To him, it was an odd thought to not be a Pokémon Trainer. He had spent so many years with Espeon and Umbreon by his side that it was odd to think of not having them. Rui interrupted his thoughts.
"We have a lot to do tomorrow, especially you. We should get some sleep."
"True. Good night, Rui." Wes felt a little odd for saying that, but he couldn't not say it.
"Good night, Wes."
Wes's thoughts jerked back to the present as he saw the terrain gradually get greener and less craggy. He would be there soon. It would be nice to see Rui again. She was much cooler than those girls who had trailed him, and fun to be around, too. He had never minded traveling with her that much.
Wes arrived at Agate Village and turned off the engine of his hoverbike. He got off and walked into town, knowing he could just leave the hoverbike there. Agate was a safe town, with few crimes, so it wouldn't get stolen. He strode across the bridge that marked the entrance to Agate and continued walking toward Eagun's house. No one stopped him. They all knew who he was and what he had done. He reached Eagun's house and entered. Eagun, Beluh, and Rui were sitting at the table in the kitchen. It looked like they had just finished lunch. Eagun, having heard the sound of the door opening, had turned around and was looking at the door.
"Oh, Wes. Come on in! Why are you here?" Wes got straight to the point.
"I need to leave Orre, and I was hoping you could tell me how."
"Ships coming to and from Orre are quite rare, but there's one leaving from Gateon for Kanto next month. We've already booked passage for Rui on it. We could probably get a ticket for you. But why do you need to leave Orre?" There was a pause.
"I'm too famous now. People won't leave me alone. In some other region, that probably won't be the case." Eagun nodded.
"I understand. I know that problem all too well... I would guess that you would like to stay in Agate until the boat departs?"
"That would be nice, yes. I doubt many people could follow me here."
"No, not many people come here, even though there are many famous people here. I doubt you would attract any more than the others. There's no room here, but there's always the Pokémon Center. Well, I'll go see if there are any tickets left." And with that, Eagun left. Wes looked at the floor, somewhat embarrassed.
"Sorry I walked in on your lunch..." He mumbled, barely audible.
"It's fine. We're happy to help you." Smiling, Beluh put the empty plates into the sink, then she too left. That left just Wes and Rui.
"...So, you're going to Kanto." Rui stated. Wes nodded.
"I always thought you didn't think that highly of Kanto." She remarked.
"Well, no... But it can't be any worse than the attention I'm getting from fame."
"I definitely don't think it is, but I'm from there. What would I know?" She then thought a bit.
"What's so bad about fame, anyway?" She sounded genuinely curious.
"Well, people talk to me all the time. I can't just go and do stuff without being stopped. And after a bit, some girls started following me and giggling every time I looked at them... That was the worst part." Rui was looking at him a little suspiciously.
"Girls?" She sounded a little... Well, accusing. That wasn't good.
"They were really annoying. Some were even a little creepy, how they always followed me but said nothing. You're much cooler." He said, a bit rushed, trying to explain.
"Ah. Well, if they were annoying, it's good that you're leaving." Another pause followed.
"Will you enter the Indigo League?"
"I'll be there, so I might as well. See how good a trainer I really am."
"You're a wonderful trainer. I've seen enough battles to know that."
"In Orre. But what if those stuck-up foreign trainers are right about the Indigo League being the home of the strongest trainers?"
"I've heard Sinnoh is quite hard too. But, really, it doesn't matter. There are hundreds of trainers who don't make it to the top, and they are fine. Besides, Champions become celebrities. Nonstop coverage and all that, at least for a few months. Isn't that what you are running from?" She smiled, showing that she was teasing him a bit. Wes smiled back. Rui had always been able to put him at ease.
"I suppose. But I'll always wonder just how good I really am unless I try to get to the top." Rui shook her head.
"That's one thing I'll never get about trainers... Still, despite that, it's nice to know you
will be coming with me to Kanto."
"It will be nice to know someone there instead of being totally confused."
"Yes, that's always nice." Rui said, still smiling, "Knowing the customs so you don't appear to be a total foreigner is always nice too, as I found out."
"...So how much would I stick out in Kanto?" He said, slightly resigned to sticking out quite a bit.
"Very much. Have you ever done a single battle? I've never seen you do one." Wes shook his head.
"It's very rare here in Orre. Not sure why, but only foreigners ask for single battles."
"It's the other way around in Kanto. The only double battles I've ever seen have happened either because two trainers wanted to face one trainer and were too impatient to wait, or a teacher and student battling as a pair so the student could learn more easily." Wes frowned at this. He would have to completely retool his strategy to work in that environment.
"Also, no one uses anything that hovers. Even cars in general are rare, with the only use being when people move from one house to another. So something like your hoverbike, which is an oddity even here, would be totally unheard of at home."
"I'll have to leave it here, then. But where?" Rui thought a bit.
"Well... I have heard that a Parts Shop is opening in Gateon, run by the same people as the one in the Under. I suppose you could sell it to them."
"Sell... my hoverbike?" Wes echoed. It would make sense, because it would be stolen if it was just laying in Gateon and he probably wouldn't be back for a while, if ever, but... Sell his hoverbike? The one that had served him so faithfully for so many years? Rui broke into his thoughts.
"It was just an idea." She had obviously caught onto the doubt in his voice, which wasn't particularly surprising - she was good at reading people. She continued. "Besides, we'll need it to get to Gateon. So that doesn't merit much thinking until then." Wes nodded. That made sense.
"Is that all, or am I obvious in more ways?"
"Well, your appearance..."
"No one looks like this in Orre either. I'm used to getting weird looks because of that."
"You have an accent, too, but you can't do anything about that. There's probably more, but I can't think of any..."
"So... I'll stick out no matter what I do?"
"Pretty much. It shouldn't matter too much, though, as plenty of weird types are Pokémon Trainers. Compared to some of them, you seem normal." Wes knew he seemed quite odd to others, even in Orre, which attracted odd types with its dreams of hidden riches. Therefore, the thought of people that made him seem normal was slightly frightening. Slightly. But compared to Cipher, Snagem, and giggling girls, weird people were nothing. At this moment, Eagun walked in. He looked over at the two, as if assessing if this was a good time to interrupt. Evidently he found that it was.
"There are tickets remaining on the boat. I got one for Wes, so everything is finalized." Rui's eyes lit up, obviously happy that Wes was definitely coming to Kanto with her. Wes was grateful for Eagun's help.
"Thanks... Do you want me to repay you for the cost?" Eagun shook his head.
"No, no, it's fine. There's no need."
"If you say so..." Wes looked at the ground, thoroughly humbled by Eagun's generosity. There was silence for a moment, and then Wes spoke again.
"I need to go and gather my thoughts... Figure out what I need to be ready to go to Kanto. I'll see you later." He left, and walked over to a cliff on the edge of town, beyond the Pokémon Mart. He sat down on the ledge, legs dangling over. He stared at the clouds. Kanto... It was so far away, and so different. Even hearing Rui explain the land made that fact apparent. Yet... Even the cultural differences couldn't make it worse than constant fame, could it? And entering the Indigo League would be interesting. A new challenge, which had been absent from his life recently. Ever since he had beaten Mt. Battle a few months ago, every trainer who had challenged him had been a pushover. Hopefully, the same would not be true of the Indigo League. He sighed, resting his hand on his right hand. The edge of his Go-Goggles bumped up against his hand. He wouldn't need those in Kanto... That country had no deserts. He would miss them, with their endless expanses, begging to be explored. It would be different. But Rui would be there to explain customs he didn't understand, and Espeon and Umbreon would be there to reassure and support him, like they always had been. With their support, he knew he could manage.
He sat there like that for a few hours, just thinking. When he noticed an orange tinge spreading across the sky, he realized just how long he had been sitting there. He got up and stretched, a little sore from sitting so long. He then walked off to the Pokémon Center, because he had found out when he had first come here that it offered free food and beds for trainers.
He arrived at the Pokémon Center and walked through the automatic doors. The nurse there recognized him from the many times he had stopped to switch out a purified Pokémon for a shadow Pokémon.
"Hello, Wes. Did you get in a battle?" Those were the other times he had stopped by. Despite the fact that Agate was supposed to be a town for retired trainers, most of them were still willing to battle.
"No. I would like to stay here for the next month or so. Is that all right?"
"There shouldn't be a problem. We have plenty of rooms at the moment." She opened a drawer in the counter and looked at the contents. She then reached in and took out a key. She handed it to Wes.
"You'll be in room 4." Wes took the key and nodded. Then, a question hit him.
"Is it possible to access the PC from other regions?" The nurse looked at him curiously, but didn't ask.
"Yes, you can. All of the PC data for trainers are stored in several servers all around the globe. However, the options might be a bit different. Everyone can store the same amount of data, but the quality of the connection determines how much you can access. The connection we have here isn't that great. We've wanted to upgrade it for years, but there's no money. Maybe in a few years..." The nurse seemed resigned to having a bad connection. Wes felt a little overwhelmed by how much she had told him, but he had gotten his question answered.
"Okay, thank you." He then walked off to his room. He would come back and get something to eat later, but for now he needed to clean out his bag. In absence of access to a PC to store items, it had become a little stuffed.