Caisleen was awoken by the loud cawing of her Pidgey alarm clock and sat up in bed, yawning. She stretched and hit the snooze button, silencing the noisy, mechanical Pokémon. When she saw the time, she jumped out of bed and nearly fell onto the floor. It was nine-thirty and she was thirty minutes late. Again. She grabbed her X-Transceiver and checked her call log. She had fifteen missed calls, eight from Kyra, three from Cyan, and four from Professor Maple. She pulled on her clothes as she balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder and called Professor Maple. She didn't want to hit the Video Call button and let the Professor see just how far behind she was.
"Caisleen, where are you? I've called you four times, we've all been waiting on you!" Maple exclaimed.
"I know, I'm sorry, my Skitty unplugged my alarm clock this morning," Caisleen lied and her Skitty mewed irritably from the foot of her bed.
"Again? You used that excuse Tuesday!"
"I'll be there soon." She replied in a singsong voice and hung up before he could reply. She took a look in the mirror and decided she looked decent, for a Trainer, anyway. She had a mop of pink hair that was cut in layers to her shoulders and topped with a white ski hat. Her bangs threatened to hang over one of her big brown eyes, and she had a heart-shaped face. She had on her pleated, pink-and-white mini-skirt, a pink jacket with a Pokeball on it over a white tank top, and black boots. She brushed her hair and teeth, said a quick goodbye to Skitty, and hurried downstairs.
"Donut, honey?" Her mother offered as she descended the steps. Caisleen's Gardevoir greeted her as she helped Cass's mother with dishes.
"I'll take it to go." She kissed her mom's cheek, grabbed the donut from her unsuspecting hand, and ran out the door after grabbing her shoulder bag.
"That girl is just like her father," Caisleen's mother chuckled and shook her head. "Always late, but always energetic."
Outside, Caisleen mounted her bike and started down the road, looking up as a flock of Starly flew by overhead. She pedaled faster, panting as her bike climbed the hill Professor Maple's laboratory sat on. The professor, Cyan, and Kyra were coming into view and they were standing in front of the lab. Professor Maple looked annoyed, Kyra looked worried, and Cyan, as usual, looked carefree. Professor Maple was well into his thirties, with brown hair and blue eyes framed by glasses. He wore slacks and a long-sleeve shirt clovered by a lab coat and was always writing things down in a black notebook he carried around. Kyra was a pretty, young girl with violet-colored hair tied up in pigtails that were pulled through her hat. The hat looked like a sort of Pokémon, with round ears and an X for one eye. She had bright green eyes and had on black jeans and a buttoned shirt over a black undershirt. Cyan looked as calm as ever, with his teal colored hair a mess over his kind gray eyes. He was wearing a dark blue hoodie with a Pokeball on it and holey jeans.
"It's about time, we've been waiting forever." Cyan teased as Caisleen swallowed the rest of her donut and got off her bike. She chained it to the rack outside the lab next to Cyan's and Kyra's bicycles and approached her friends.
"Good of you to finally show up. Thanks to you, we've lost thirty minutes of our time." The professor scolded.
"What's the big deal?" She shrugged as he led the three teens to his car. They all climbed inside and Maple took off down the street.
"The big deal is our boat leaves at a quarter to ten." Cyan informed her.
"Boat?" Caisleen said in a small voice.
"Cass hates boats." Kyra pointed out.
"I don't hate them, I just hate Wailmer...and Wailord...and Sharpedo. But not as much as Wailmer and Wailord." Caisleen cleared her throat, trying to get her voice back.
"You don't hate them, you're afraid of them." Cyan corrected from the passenger's seat.
"No way." She was still too sleepy to argue.
"I have your boarding passes already under control. You will receive your ID's for keeping Pokémon at the gate before you enter." The Professor explained.
"So, why is there an age limit to this region?" Kyra asked.
"There are Pokémon from all over the world there, not just ones from here. You can catch everything there, and that can be quite dangerous. That is why the age limit is sixteen and older." The professor explained.
"What are the rules for the Safari Zone?" Caisleen asked.
"You must leave all previous Pokémon at home prior to arriving and you can catch one of your choice in the Safari Zone. That one Pokémon will be your starter throughout the region."
"That's pretty cool." Cyan said. "Any Pokémon?"
"With the exception of legendaries, of course, but I doubt you'll see any in the Safari Zone." Maple nodded.
"Whatever, I already know what I want." Caisleen scoffed.
"Aipom," The other three said in unison.
"How did you know?"
"It's your favorite Pokémon. I would know, I got you an Aipom doll for Christmas." Kyra pointed out.
"You know me too well." Cass shrugged.
Professor Maple pulled into the harbor's parking lot and found a place. The four got out of the car and the Professor pulled three tickets out of his notebook. He handed one to each of them with a smile. "The boat should be headed back tomorrow, I'll see you then. Be careful."
"Thanks, Professor." The three said and started for the boat. AS they climbed the steps, they showed their tickets and were admitted onto the ship. They made it just in time before the boat departed. The three stood at the head of the boat and watched the sea roll past. Many Luvdisc surfaced and jumped out of the water, and when water exploded from a Wailord's blow hole nearby, Caisleen almost fainted.
"You're staying on the ship tonight, right?" Said a girl that had been flirting with Cyan. "Your room number should be on the back of your ticket."
"Thanks," Said Cyan, who was oblivious to her admiration.
"Hey, we share a room." Cass said to Kyra as the other girl left.
"Cool." Her friend smiled.
"I'm going to our room before we see another Wailord." Caisleen told them.
"Hey, look, there's a Wailmer," Cyan grinned and pointed out toward the sea.
"Oh, God," Caisleen turned away, covering her eyes with her hands.
"Cyan, cut it out." Kyra rolled her eyes. "There are no Wailmer."
"Cyan!" Caisleen smacked his arm.
"It was just a joke," He shrugged.
"I'll see you guys soon." Caisleen turned and headed for the door to the guest cabin.
"I'll take that." The man at the door said and she gave him her ticket. Afterward, he unhooked a plastic card hanging from his key ring, among many other cards. He handed the card and her ticket to her with a nod. "Don't lose those, kid."
"Thanks for the advice." She muttered, heading down the hallway.
She was about to turn the corner when she bumped into another Trainer. He was about six-one, tall and thin, with black hair that was a bit long and fell just below his collar. He had brown eyes and wore sneakers, cargo pants, and a short-sleeve hoodie over a long-sleeve shirt. He had a backpack over one shoulder and a neutral expression. Caisleen hit the floor on her back and he extended a hand to her. "It might be wise to watch where you're going." He advised.
She raised an eyebrow at him, but grabbed his hand, letting him help her. "Thanks."
He took her ticket, to her irritation, and turned it over to look at her room number. "Lucky number nine. It's at the end of the hall."
Caisleen snatched her ticket back. "Mind your own business!"
"See you around." The boy chuckled and walked past her disappearing down the hall.
Caisleen wished she had been nicer for a brief second and continued down the hall. She entered room nine by scanning the plastic card and looked around. There were two beds on either side of the room, a dresser against one wall, a circular window, and white wallpaper with Lapras print. A door on the wall to her left was open to reveal a bathroom. In one of the corners was a mini-fridge with a microwave sitting on top of it. She walked over to the window and looked out the glass. Several flock of Swanna and Wingull were flying high against the sky, and floating in the ocean were Frillish, Tentacool, Feebas and even a Lapras and a Milotic.
"Hey, you found the room." Kyra's voice said from behind Caisleen.
Caisleen whirled to face her friend. "Come look at the view."
Kyra came in, followed by Cyan, and Caisleen moved to let them peer through the window. "It's so cool." Cyan grinned as he saw the island come into view. "Hey, we're almost there."
Kyra and Caisleen crowded around Cyan to see out the window. He was right, the ship was beginning to dock, and Pokémon were everywhere. They saw a few Krabby and Corphish and even a Kingler scuttling along the sand, and a Tropius raising its head to eat leaves from a tree where a Taillow perched.
"Attention to all passengers: we have arrived in Harbordale of the Arcana region. We hope you enjoy our Safari Zone. Ten Safari Balls and a Pokeblock Case, as well as five different types of Pokeblocks will be given to you. If you run out of Pokeballs, return to the front gate to receive more. You will also be given a rental Pokémon to catch your own. Please have fun and good luck!" A lady on the PA system announced.
"Let's go!" Kyra said excitedly and pulled on her friends' arms.
"She's right, let's hurry." Cyan led them out the door and into the hall. Many trainers were pushing past each other to leave the ship and eventually, the three friends made it to the deck. They finally managed to descend the stairs from the ship to the dock and onto the beach, making footprints in the sand. Ahead was a forest, where POkemon were roaming and a building, which was the gate. After waiting on the incredibly long line, Caisleen, Cyan and Kyra walked into the gate.