Chapter 3

June 7th, 2006

The plane was sleek and pale. It wasn't too large to attract attention, but it was bigger than the one they used to fly from Kalos to Johto. May would be lying if she said that she didn't feel giddy to go to the next place. The thrill and adrenaline from the Radio Tower was exhilarating. The fear was also fun, like a haunted house. But the concept of why they were afraid, and why they were running clearly wasn't fun. That dread of it brought her back down to reality.

Lance stared at them all. "Again, this is going directly to Mistralton City, Unova. Skyla will meet you as soon as the plane lands."

Iris gave him a nod. "Perfect." She glanced at her friends. "Start going in."

May nodded to Drew and took the first step onto the plane. The inside was nice, as to be expected from the Indigo League. Since it ran two regions, it had the most money. The money that the league received came from the region's taxes. Kalos was a close second by the sheer size and population.

The planes they took from Hoenn to Kalos were large commercial jets. It was a wonder that not as many evacuating planes or ships had been lost, the grand total was three, and it was only ships. They came from Sootopolis, Mossdeep and Mauville.

She took a spot near the middle of the plane. She sat near the window; she wanted to see the retreating region when they took off. Ash slid in next to her, moving Pikachu to carefully sit on his lap, with Clemont on his other side. Dawn took the seat in front with Serena and the two coaxed Leaf to come with them. Iris sat at the very front, Lance had assigned G- Men to come and help, whether she liked it or not.

There was only a handful of G-Men. Not a drastic amount. The ones who were traveling with them were to serve as a protection not to show that Kanto wishes to interfere with the workings of Unova.

Other than Iris and Cilan, the others were all packed together.

The plane jerked forward as they quickly fastened their belts. May glanced out the window, watching as various things were passed by as they were moving forward.

There were lights blinking on the runway but it wasn't really necessary as the sun hung above them in the blue sky.

The plane had an odd hanging feeling as they smoothly transitioned from pavement to air. May smiled slightly at the feeling. Her stomach lurched as they were propelled upward. It felt like they were on a roller coaster. May glanced over to the two on her left. Ash was staring straight ahead. He's been on countless planes in the past; he was calmly chewing on a piece of gum. Clemont on the other hand was fiddling with his fingers. He stared down at his lap and barely moved aside from that.

May's ears painfully popped and she sat up straighter from the shock. She forgot that that would happen.

The clouds passed serenely by. They were very plush at this time. Quiet chatter broke through the silence of the plane. Most of the quiet murmurs were coming near the front of the plane. Iris and the others.

May turned to Ash hoping to start up a conversation. "Is Unova nice?" She asked.

Ash nodded. "Every region is nice. Unova's very industrial compared to the rest. Lots of big cities compared to towns." He scratched his head. "Really though I think the most memorable thing about Unova is the pokémon." He glanced over at her. "You haven't met any of my Unova pokémon have you? Then again you also didn't meet some from when we travelled before. Anyway, the reason why Unova pokémon are the most memorable is because they're so different." He held up Pikachu as for an example.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu squirmed in Ash's grasp for a moment and relaxed once Ash set him back down and scratched at his ears dutifully.

"I've seen pictures of some, and the ones Iris and Cilan have, how are they so different? Wouldn't any new pokémon be memorable?" She asked.

"Well yeah," Ash agreed, "But... I don't know how to explain it but they're just..."

"Weird?" Dawn added. She had turned around in her seat to look back at them, the use of seatbelts unnecessary now.

"That's the best way I can explain them really." He nodded. "I've been to most of the regions and any pokémon from any region can just fit together so well with any other, visually and just the way they act. Unova's pokémon just don't I guess." May thought this over, what he said was confusing, but it did make sense. "Before I left for Kalos I took a picture with all my pokémon, I think I have it on my pokégear but I'm not sure, my Unova pokémon just stick out, but not in a bad way."

June 7th, 2006

The plane ride was actually quite short; Unova was fairly close to Kanto, only needing to fly over Kalos to reach it instead of a whole ocean like it took from Hoenn to Kalos. During the two and a half hour flight, Ash continued on with his talk of what Unova was like and his experiences. Mostly everybody who was within earshot was interested. The murmurs between Iris, Cilan and the Johto-Kanto Division G-Men had subsided and they remained quiet for the majority of the flight.

At one point in the flight, the plane caught some turbulence and shook violently in the sky. Everybody's heart raced but soon enough calmed down once the rough wind passed.

There was a beep and that silenced Ash in his speaking, "We'll be arriving in Mistralton City in under five minutes, please fasten your seatbelts to assure you a safe landing."

Dawn blinked and turned back around to face the front, turning to her side and pulling the belt across. She looked to her right and out the window. She could see a city in the distance with a large runway, obviously meant for incoming planes. A forest dotted the perimeter of the city along with a large rock structure on one side.

Dawn remembered Mistralton City fairly well, it was the city she arrived in when she travelled to Unova in 2005, the year prior when she met up with Ash, Cilan and Iris and even the Sinnoh Champion. She didn't remember seeing any of the Mistralton gym leader, who was supposed to greet them upon landing.

The plane bounced repeatedly as it landed on the black paved runway. The plane was still zipping along the strip, barely slowing.

Eventually there was a screech and the plane halted, jerking Dawn forward. She could see that the same thing happened to both Serena and Leaf who were sitting in the same row as her.

The whole group waited for a moment. Iris began talking to the G-Men and Cilan. Nobody moved until they did and just sat in silence. As soon as Iris got up, then did the others as well. She looked back to the others, as if checking that they were all still there. "The next plane should only be forty-five minutes or maybe thirty-five. Realistically, the sixth gym is here so the league is only about three cities away plus a small mountain range. Our region isn't extremely large so it really shouldn't be all that long." She glanced back to the now standing G-Men and told them to go outside along with Cilan so he could greet the flying-type gym leader. She walked over to her group of friends and sighed as she slouched over. "I hate being professional..." She confessed and straightened herself back up. "Do you think we could all fit into a helicopter? Or would a plane be better?" She held up a hand and began to count off of her fingers, "There's twelve of us and like five G-Men so then nineteen? Would that fit in a helicopter?"

"Helicopters usually fit six people plus a pilot." Clemont said, "So probably not."

"Okay plane it is then." She replied with a nod. "Man I wish Lance didn't send those G-Men; he mostly wants to inspect how Unova is run than to actually help." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, let's hurry and get going, who knows how much longer the league can stand until I'm back."

Ash stood up, hitting his head off of the carry compartment. He winced and rubbed it, "What about Alder? He's the temporary champion right?"

"Yes," Iris agreed, "but now that he's lost his title he can only do so much and no matter what his past was with the league, the Four Heavenly Kings and our G-Men can't listen to just any order from him until I oversee it and I couldn't do that while we were in Johto, I had more pressing matters on my mind." She reasoned.

Ash nodded and pulled his hand away from his head, bending down to pick up that hat that he had dropped, "Yeah I get that then." He smiled at her, "It's good to know this for when I become a champion!" He paused, "Wait, since when did the title of Elite Four change?"

"The Four Heavenly Kings has always been the base name for the Elite Four in any region; it's just been shortened to Elite Four and is now more widely known." Iris laughed at him. "Just rule however you'd like so long as it doesn't harm anybody in the process. Come on let's go now."

Dawn blinked as she caught sight of a tall, pink haired woman. "Hi Iris!" The woman greeted.

"Hey Skyla!" Ash practically shouted and scurried past everybody like an excited growlithe.

Skyla's smile fathered for a moment then recognition sprouted through her, "Hey, I remember you!" She then brought her hand up to rub her cheek, "But..." She dragged out, "I don't remember your name." She admitted sheepishly. "You look quite different and quite honestly I probably wouldn't remember you if it wasn't for the pikachu on your shoulder."

"Pika!" Pikachu leaned closer to Ash's face and gave him a smug look.

Ash rolled his eyes at his partner and pushed his face away, "Oh shut up." He complained. Pikachu stuck his tongue out and snatched the hat off of his trainer's head, carefully placing it on his own.

"Pika pika chu pikachu." The electric mouse muttered.

Skyla laughed at the exchange between trainer and pokémon the turned and pointed down the runway, "We're taking the small jet over there, it's usually used for transporting goods but it'll be perfect for today's flight."

Paul frowned; he was standing not too far off from Dawn, but to her side. "We're taking a flight in a carrier plane? Where the hell are we going to sit?"

Skylab inked, seemingly a little unhappy at his rude comment. "This plane can have seats installed, it's a perfectly safe plane, my grandfather designed and built it himself."

"So it's an old plane as well, wonderful." He said dryly.

Skyla pursed her lips, "Yes, it is an older plane but it will still last for many more years to come. I come from a family of engineers and pilots, I know what I'm doing thank you." Paul gave her a look but said no more, calmly folding his arms over his chest.

Dawn scuffed at the ground, of course an exchange like that would happen.

Serena clapped her hands together hoping to break through the awkward tension that was brought on. "Well I'm really excited so see at least a little bit more of Unova so when are we leaving?"

Skyla formed her mouth back into a smile. "We're leaving as soon as I'm given the go."

"Then right now will be great then, right?" Cilan asked.

The pink haired pilot nodded to him, "Yes of course!" Skyla turned and preceded down towards the new plane, the group trailed after her.

After a few minutes, everybody was set on the plane and it took to the sky. Greens and blues rushed past, bringing gray old-fashioned and modern cities as well. Dawn stared in awe as she saw a large series of spaces near them, all representing a different type, most noticeably the different gyms. The old gyms still had their monuments up, like the trio badge which she recognised as the one Ash had gotten from Cilan a few years ago. Rocks littered the beautiful scene however and a pang of sadness passed through her. Not many people could pass through it anymore she assumed, not many or none at all.

A tall and gorgeous building loomed in the distance and Dawn couldn't hold back her gasp. She had taken a seat next to Paul this time. He was the one sitting near the window and she was practically leaning over him to look outside. She could see him glance over at her for a moment, with what seemed to be a small smile, if that was at all possible. She didn't pay him any mind, too busy entranced by the Unovian Pokémon League building.

It looked like a large coliseum. Its dazzling cream-white bricks and pillars accompanied by a curved green roof with golden accents. It was much more pleasant to look at compared to the Indigo League.

There was a circular archway-like building in the front of the League. It was made of the same cream stone and also was decorated with gold.

The stairway leading to the building was vast and excessive; she was glad that they didn't have to walk.

The plane began to lower closer to the ground. The league sat on a flat plane of a dry dusty brown mountain, dirt flew everywhere making a cloud around them. The more the plane lowered, the more excited Dawn felt. She couldn't wait to see the inside of the building, she was dying to know if it was just as marvellous inside as it was outside.

At this point, Dawn sat back, feeling that it would be safer to do so as they landed. She glanced over at Paul and caught his gray gaze. She beamed at him. "Isn't it pretty?" She asked.

Paul looked back out the window and shrugged. "I suppose so. Sinnoh's looks better in my opinion."

Dawn nodded; she had to agree with him there. The Pokémon League back home was very castle-like, giving off a regal feeling with a dazzling waterfall just before it.

Once again, she felt the jerk of the landing plane as it bounced before coming to a complete halt. Everyone was silent, acting on autopilot, business-like because now the issue they were here to fix should be the main thing concerning them. The unbuckled their seatbelts and stepped off. Dawn coughed from the still floating cloud of dust and dirt.

Iris stepped around themand made her way towards the building, silently telling them to follow.

I didn't bother editing this chapter, oops? If you spot a really bad mistake just leave a comment on where it is.

My exams are done and I'm out of school hurray! This chapter's fairrly short and I find it kind of boring so I just left it at this and the next chapter will be more info filled.

I came across BirdKeeperToby's video and I really liked how he planned out the map so this is how I imagine the pokemon world is now (Minus Alola), the link to the video is /7E1aI4tDgDA and it's titled "Pokemon Theory" - Where Are All The Regions if you'd rather search that if the link isn't working.