The moment of departure was fast approaching for Ken Worth, Fennekin and Truck #653 as the ferry MV Sinnoh Monferno had unloaded and was now starting the loading process for its journey from Kanto to Sinnoh. Two mighty ramps had descended down with two levels of vehicles now being driven aboard the ferry simultaneously. Regular cars, vans, pickups, and SUVs drove up onto the top deck while all the giant commercial trucks headed down onto the lower one. The ferry would be full on this run.
All of the Sinnoh Lines crew wore bright orange uniforms to increase their visibility as they directed traffic aboard. Ken quickly showed one the export paperwork for his load before he was given the cue to drive aboard. Fennekin looked out in awe as Truck #653 went into the shadows and down the ramp into the ship. Their big rig was dwarfed by this bigger ship. Neither of them knew that right above them at the same time a familiar red sports car was driving aboard with a familiar Purrloin looking out the window in the back seat.
The Sinnoh Monferno had a mostly platinum white livery mostly broken up on this ship by a fiery orange stripe around the hull. A giant image of a Monferno in a proud pose adorned the bow near the loading area. Many carriers named ferries after their home region's starter Pokémon and their evolutions as a sign of local pride. The Sinnoh Monferno was configured as type of ship known as a roll-on/roll-off, or RoRo, ferry. These ferries were designed to allow quick loading and unloading of vehicles to maximize the number of trips it could make daily.
Ken maneuvered Truck #653 into its directed spot, right behind Rhodey Trane and his Truck #1,901 with its extra trailer. There was a small gap between their trucks and the ones coming in behind them. As the loading process finished the two blue-and-gold GS Transport trucks ended up sandwiched between a brown one for Tauros Trucking, a couple of green-and-brown ones from Torterra Lines, and a few trucks from smaller companies. Ken took note of a driver from Amour Shipping and another from Advance Shipping, one a Kalos carrier and the other from Hoenn, who looked like they were about to get in a fistfight over something silly before his attention turned elsewhere.
Ken and Fennekin got out of the cab of their truck. The ferry was now loaded and its sturdy main door closed down as the loading ramps moved back. It sealed and locked. Right after it did a buzzer sounded and a bulkhead slowly moved across the gap between the back of his truck and one of the Torterra Lines rigs, if water got onto the truck deck it was designed to prevent it having free reign to slosh around and potentially capsize the ferry. Ken remembered when that happened by accident on a Galarian ferry, the results weren't pretty. The fact a Team Galactic thug with a Gyrados and a grudge tried to repeat that and caused chaos on a Sinnoh boat also hadn't been forgotten; Ken was glad that organization met its end a while back during some stunt trying to remake the world or some nonsense like that so he wouldn't have to worry about them in Sinnoh now. Rhodey walked up to him as the bulkhead locked in place.
"Ever been on a ferry like this before?" Rhodey asked.
"Nah," Ken replied. "I've been looking forward to it though. It's a nice little break from driving before the big change in scenery."
"You should see the boats they use on the Alolan routes; they are even bigger and the trips are even longer," Rhodey replied. "Everyone even gets cabins. Want to head up on deck and get a drink?"
"Yeah but before I do I want to show you something," Ken said. "Let's get in the cab I got a video of that thing in the tunnel just before the dock."
Ken briefly hopped up back in the drivers seat with Rhodey following him on the passenger side. Fennekin was at Ken's side and ready to help. Ken pulled out his cell phone and clicked on an application that linked it to his dash camera wirelessly. He ran back the video to when he was driving through the tunnel.
"Ah, the benefits of technology," Ken quipped. "Check this out."
Rhodey and Fennekin watched as Ken pressed a button and played the video. Everything was normal until the red and white blur blasted past like a fighter jet on full afterburner. Rhodey just looked puzzled and Ken ran it back again.
"Wow, that baby was flying," Rhodey said. "Maybe literally. That doesn't look a car and unless it's some stealthy secret agent thing it couldn't have got past me."
"There was that bridge between the tunnels," Ken said. "Is it possible it flew away?"
"I wouldn't rule it out," Rhodey said. "You see anything else about it?"
"In the rearview it looked like it had gold headlights," Ken said.
Rhodey looked puzzled and then took a wide guess.
"Could be a Pokémon...it's a long shot but a Latias fits that bill for that," Rhodey said. "They are white and red like that, lightning fast and precise in flying, and I think they have gold eyes. I've heard rumors they can turn invisible too or create illusions to change shape but I don't believe that. Only time I ever saw one was a tame one at an amusement park show in Hoenn."
"Latias?" Ken asked. "Those things are like legendary Pokémon aren't they? Aren't they only native to Hoenn?"
"There's a few in Johto," Rhodey replied. "Alto Mare has some Latias and Latios as a tourist draw and there's been rare sightings around there for wild ones. There was some big thing with a tidal wave or something that they stopped a while back that got some regional attention and they've had trainers showing off those species since then for tourists."
"Assuming it is a Latias then what is it doing in a road runnel in Kanto?" Ken asked. "That's way off the beaten path. It could be some sort of vehicle designed to mimic one I suppose. I'll save this video and get it checked later. My sister knows Pokémon better than me so maybe she'll have something."
"Either way, the only way you blow the speed limit away like that is if someone is hot on your tail," Rhodey replied.
"Maybe someone in a helicopter," Ken noted. "That could explain that."
"Come on, let's head up on deck before this thing sets sail," Rhodey replied. "It's always fun to watch the port fade into the distance."
Up on the bridge the crew was making the final preparations for departure. The captain held a radio in his hand as his first mate looked over her computer screen to confirm the vessel was configured properly. She gave him a thumbs up once a light came on to indicate the car deck door was closed and secure. The captain cued the radio.
"Sinnoh Monferno to Azure Harbor Control, request departure clearance to Sandgem Terminal," the captain said.
"Roger Sinnoh Monferno, there are no outbound vessles at this time and you are cleared to depart," replied the harbormaster over the radio.
"Clearance received, we're out of here," the captain replied.
The propellers of the ferry spun up and it slowly backed away from the Azure City terminal. Ken and Fennekin were up on the deck watching as the ferry departed Kanto bound for Sinnoh. A chill ran up both their spines as the reality of this trip dawned on them as the Kanto shore started getting smaller in the distance.
"This is where the fun begins," Ken said. "Ice road here we come."
"Fen," Fennekin said. "Fennekin fen fen."
Rhodey walked up to them with a drink in hand.
"I love the curry-flavored lemonade you can get on these boats," Rhodey said. "It's an exclusive for Sinnoh Lines and has just the perfect amount of spicy kick to balance the sweet. You want one?"
"Pass," Ken said.
"More for me then," Rhodey replied as he popped the top and took a swig. "Ah, pure fire baby."
"Fen?" Fennekin replied.
"No no, spice and not fire type," Rhodey replied.
Ken and Fennekin watched as the ferry sailed out of the harbor and into open water. The ride would take a few hours but they should still make it to Oreburgh City to deliver their Paldean soft drinks before timing out on their shift. Ken looked forward to seeing his sister once he got there. She'd never met Fennekin in person. Rhodey continued talking about driving.
"So have you heard the new trick the gearjammers in Hoenn have come up with?" Rhodey said. "It works on the Devon rigs and it's called "Hoenn Hot Rodding" or "Going Linoone" because it gives a straight-line speed boost but it's a little reckless."
"Oh?" Ken said.
"Yeah," Rhodey said. "You know how the fuse box for our 750s is down by the pedals on the driver's side. Some guys have found if you pop it open and pull fuse R8 you disable the speed limiter on our trucks. Pop off the R22 fuse and you can disable the GPS trackers too so the home office wouldn't flag you immediately for it. Do both and the door is wide open for a little higher speed running…Ah, just in theory of course."
"That's a bit wild," Ken said. "The speed limiters on these rigs are there for a reason. These trucks can weigh 17 to 40 tons, that's not something you want blasting down the road with no limiter. You'd tear up the road and increase wear on the truck too. Have you done it?"
"I sampled it once to a minor degree," Rhodey said quietly. "But you better know what you're doing and be an isolated area before you pull a stunt like that. Officer Jenny and her clock will bust truckers left and right for speeding if the cops catch you doing that. Most GS guys won't try it, and Mack would can anyone who did it regularly, but I've seen a few for other companies who do it. I hear its almost standard operating procedure for NQA."
"Wonder what they'd be in such a hurry for," Ken said. "Must be late for their accidents."
"Got to be someone who pays extra good," Rhodey replied. "That whole fleet has earned the 'No Questions Asked' image."
Fennekin rolled his eyes as even he was aware of NQA's issues.
"Rhodey, have you ever run the ice roads in northern Sinnoh?" Ken asked.
"Nah, I'm too Alolan to handle weather like that," Rhodey replied. "Outside the occasional ski trip or sled jumping competition on Mount Lanakila anyway."
"I'm heading up north for a run there on this trip," Ken said. "That's gonna be wild. I'm making a haul up to Glacier Peak Island."
"You better be perfect on a run like that," Rhodey said. "I've met Sinnoh guys who have run those and it is wild. There is almost zero margin for error on ice like that. You mess up out on the water and you'll be headed for the bottom faster than the St. Anne. I talked to some guys and even the road up to the ice is tricky, one guy slid off in a ditch before he even got off the paved section. They do send some of the haul masters up there to it."
"Well, I'm gunning for that haul master rank eventually and you've got to take the challenging loads to get it," Ken said. "My team and I have training hard to get ready for this. I think we're ready for it."
Ken looking down at his partner.
"What do you think Fennekin?" Ken asked. Are we going to give it our all?"
"Fen, Fennekin fen fen," Fennekin replied.
"Sinnoh awaits," Ken said. "Let's hope it's ready for us."
The Sinnoh Monferno continued sailing north toward the horizon. In just a few hours Ken, Fennekin, and their team would be in the land once called Hisui but what they prepared for and the challenges they'd face would end up being somewhat different things.
As Ken and Rhodey turned to head into the ship and enjoy some time off the clock Fennekin sniffed the air and glanced over toward two trainers who seemed a little more familiar than they should be. At their feet was a Purrloin. Ken called for Fennekin to follow him and he did so. The GS Transport team didn't realize yet that Robert and Ellee's next Team Rocket assignment was also sending the pair north but the two groups might already be on a collision course.