The desert between Castelia and Nimbasa City spared Ray and his friends from the sandstorms that usually show up there. The hot, dry air still left everyone thirsty and dried up, though. Not a single source of water was to be found, except for the bottles of it inside the travelers' packs. Ray spared his Pokémon from the desert; Gabe's Growlithe insisted on staying out, so it was covered in sand within minutes.
"Be glad there's even a road here," Juniper said. "They just finished it a few weeks ago. Before that, everyone had to go through all the sand."
"Isn't there a subway?" Gabe coughed. He had probably inhaled some sand. "We should have taken that."
"It's closed, like the bridge," Juniper said.
"Why is everything closed?" Gabe sighed.
"I know, right?" Stanley agreed.
Ray plodded along silently, listening to them talk. The hype and energy from seeing Unova for the first time was wearing off, mostly because of the harsh desert. Still, the only people around here were people Ray knew. He liked it that way.
But a girl's voice up ahead caught his attention. She sounded like she was battling. Looking up, Ray saw her cheering on what must have been a Unova Pokémon—Ray didn't know what it was. He tried the scanner function of his Pokédex, and the short entry told him that it was a Deerling, and that its appearance changed with the seasons.
The girl up ahead was flinging a Poké Ball at something in the sand. The ball opened and closed in a flash of light, but burst after a few seconds. The girl yelled, told her Deerling to keep it up, and threw a new ball at her target. This time, the ball didn't break, and she caught whatever the wild Pokémon was.
By now, Ray was close enough to talk to her. But he didn't want to.
Gabe did, anyway. "Hey, what did you catch?" he called. Ray sort of envied how he could talk to anybody like that.
The girl turned around, startled. She looked a bit older than Ray. There was sand all over her grayish-blue outfit.
"A Sandile," she said, flustered. "Were you watching the whole time?"
"No," Gabe assured her.
She looked at Juniper, then at Ray. "I have to go," she said, trotting off the road and into the sand.
"Where's she going?" Gabe asked.
"Probably the Desert Resort," Stanley answered.
"The road to there still isn't finished," Juniper added.
They continued towards Nimbasa City. The girl's shyness reminded Ray of how he was around strangers.
The rest of their trek through the desert was uneventful. Gabe talked to Growlithe about random things, and Ray stared at the ground. He occasionally stopped to adjust the egg in his bag.
They never came across any water. Poor Felsin would have to wait.
Nimbasa was much more appealing to Ray than Castelia City. Instead of blocking out the sky, the colorful buildings spread out and opened on airy, inviting streets. Suburbs sprawled out on the north side, and the rest was Nimbasa's famous entertainment and business center. As they entered the city, Ray saw no sign of the Festival.
"Where is the festival?" Ray said. His voice was a bit gravelly, because he hadn't spoken in hours.
"It's at the fairgrounds," Juniper said. "I'll lead the way."
She took them through the streets at a brisk pace. They passed through an arch and entered an absurdly colorful, grassy place with several amusement attractions. Ray spotted a couple huge inflatable Pokémon, a Ferris wheel, rows and rows of big tents, and a few stages surrounding it all. Only a few people were milling around the fairgrounds.
"We're a few hours early!" Juniper said, pleased with herself. "I know just what you can do in the meantime!" She turned around and showed them what must have been the brightest building around. It was the size of a warehouse, and the front was decked in flashing neon lights and TV screens. The thing was pretty much where the city ended and the fairgrounds began.
"Oh hey, it's a Gym!" Gabe said.
A sign by the entrance said that Pokémon were only allowed in specified areas inside. Gabe withdrew Growlithe, and everyone entered.
The air inside was nice and cold. The huge building was all open space on the inside—it really was a huge warehouse. There were arcades, Pokémon battle rings, and even a roller coaster, all inside. Crazy lights flashed out from everywhere. There wasn't much people now, but Ray could tell that it would become a terrifying sight if more people came.
They made a beeline for the Gym grounds, wherever they were. Ray guessed that they were with the other battling arenas, and he was right. One arena was larger than the rest, and had plenty of seats surrounding it. Sturdy, clear walls—it looked like Plexiglas—protected the lower seats from the battle.
A woman in what Ray guessed was a super-chic outfit was standing in the middle of the field, messing with some sort of mobile device. Her light blue clothes fit in well with the more subdued hues of the arena.
"That's Elesa, the Gym Leader," Gabe pointed out, though Ray had already figured out who she was. "Go talk to her for a battle!"
"Do I really have to?" Ray said, peering out at Elesa. Her back was turned, and she was still tinkering with that mobile thing. "She sort of looks busy."
"Well, she's asking for it, standing in the middle of the battlefield like that."
"Oh, alright." Ray hesitated before opening a door in the protective wall and stepping out onto the field. The shiny, dark blue floor was about as soft as a Rhydon.
Right before Ray reached her, Elesa turned around and gave a tiny, tiny bow.
"Is it a Gym battle you want? I am ready," Elesa said.
"Uh," Ray stammered, bewildered. "Yeah, that's why I came."
"Okay." Elesa walked Ray to one side of the field. "What's your name?"
"Ray."
"Alright then, Ray," Elesa said. "Good luck on your Gym battle."
"Thanks," Ray replied. "You too, I guess."
Elesa smiled. "It'll be great," she said, turning around and briskly making her way to the other end of the field. Two gigantic screens turned on above the battlefield, each showing Elena's face versus Ray's name—both had three Poké Ball icons beneath them. Within moments, people were gathering around the stands to watch the Gym battle.
That made Ray incredibly nervous.
It had ended all in a rush. The battle had started out okay, with Spolt putting up a fight against Elesa's Emolga, but the annoying little thing had kept dodging attacks. It hadn't helped that both Pokémon were electric-types. From then on, Ray had continued making stupid mistakes—with a crowd of people watching, too.
The battle had ended one to three. Ray lost.
"It's perfectly understandable," Elesa had said. "This Gym can bring up lots of new, unexpected challenges. You're always free to come by again, though I hope you'll take a break first."
Outside the huge Gym place, Gabe tried to cheer him up.
"Let's go heal your Pokémon. Then we'll go check out the Festival," he said. "Besides, you can just challenge her again."
"I guess," Ray mumbled.
"Look," Stanley said. "I know I've just been silent for a while, but I'll tell you now: I've seen a lot of battles. I think I know the differences between good Trainers and bad Trainers. You're one hundred percent good Trainer. I could tell just from that battle with Burgh. I'm positive you're not just a good Trainer, but a great Trainer."
"Thanks for the amazing speech," Ray said, still in a bad mood.
"I was just trying to figure out how I would put it to you," Stanley shrugged.
"Now, Ray," Juniper said, providing her input, "there are many times where failure is much more valuable than success, in the end. I think this will help you."
Ray didn't respond. Juniper didn't push it—she knew her message got through.
They all left for the city's Pokémon Center, and would be back just in time for the Festival.
They made it back to the Gym. As they walked to the fairgrounds, one of the stages came into view. A gray-haired man in a simple white jacket was standing up on it. He held a microphone up to his lips.
"Hello? Is this thing on?" he questioned. Someone else on the stage whispered to him. "Hello! I'm Professor Oak, a Pokémon researcher. Welcome to the first annual Unova Convention of Science and Technology! It used to be called the Science Festival, but we changed it because we wanted to show how different it's going to be. We have tons of exhibits with all sorts of interesting things to discover! For a list of events, check near the front or at any stage. For example, over here at the western stage, we're giving away six brand new Pokédexes every hour! A bunch of Pokémon Professors are here, too. Feel free to come and chat. Uh, that's all, I guess." He got off the stage and took a seat at a huge folding table with some other people.
"I have to be there, too," Juniper said. "Here, I'll introduce you all."
Sitting at the table was Oak, Birch, and another Professor Ray didn't know.
"Hey, Ray and Gabe," Birch greeted. "How's Unova treating you two?"
"Great!" Gabe answered. "It's been fun."
"Why hello, Juniper!" Oak said. "Glad you could make it."
Juniper took the seat between Birch and the other Professor, who was talking to someone on the side. When he finished, he turned and greeted Juniper.
"Hello, Rowan," Juniper replied, setting her things beneath her seat. People were already approaching the area in front of the stage to talk with the Professors.
"It was nice traveling with you guys," Juniper said. "But I'm sure you're going all over Unova. Good luck!"
Nobody had any questions for the Professors, so Ray, Gabe, and Stanley left to check out the rest of the festivals. Lots of the tents were giving out free things, from plushies to science magazines. When they were finished with the tents, they returned to Juniper and her colleagues, and talked about each Professor's fields of study. By the time they were done with everything, the sun was low in the sky and Ray was exhausted. They bid farewell to Juniper, then looked for a place to sleep for the night.
A loud boom in the distance caused several people to turn towards the city in bewilderment. It gave no sign that anything had happened.
"Someone's probably going crazy with their electric Pokémon," Stanley said. "Anyway, I know a good place we can camp." He peered at a faraway field with nothing but short grass. "It's over there."
"What's that?" Gabe said. He was still facing the other way, towards the city. A weird blue light was reflecting in the distance.
"Is it coming over here?" Stanley wondered. It sort of looked like it was moving.
And it was. The blue light actually went through the buildings, radiating outwards until it was speeding towards the fairgrounds. People ran for cover in panic, but nobody could escape, save for some bird Trainers taking flight. As the wave—that's what the light looked more like, a wave—passed through Ray, he felt lightheaded and dizzy.
"That's weird," Gabe said. "Nothing happened."
Stanley glanced around nervously. "You better hope we didn't all just get cancer."
Ray lost his balance, and clinged to Gabe.
"Hey!" Gabe cried. They both fell to the ground. "Watch the egg! What's wrong, Ray?"
Ray was lying on his side, fortunately. But his disorientation was getting worse. He tried to get up, but almost rolled over. He could faintly feel someone taking off his pack. That's when he rolled over.
The last thing he could remember seeing before he passed out was the starry sky, and a few birds.
He could also hear Stanley yelling, "Help! What the hell is going on?"
After that, Ray was unconscious.