With our badges acquired, Claire and I happily walked out of the Gym, wide smiles on our faces. There was still some time before noon and we had the whole day before us.

“What now?” Claire asked, stepping from the shadow of the building and into the warm light of the sun, looking up and closing her eyes as the rays were hitting her face.

“Today?” I paused for a second, before answering my own question, “Nothing. You could talk to Cliff, but that’s the only serious thing on the list. Maybe some shopping, but even that could be left for later, or we could decide where we want to go next and how we want to get there.” I mused, walking next to her and enjoying the warm sun, too.

“Sounds good. Let’s walk around a bit, I want to see more of the town.” she suggested and I decided to tag along, at least until we had some lunch. It was almost the right time and while I did want to look at the map, maybe figure out which Routes to travel and where to go off-route in the interest of finding interesting Pokémon and gathering some valuable battle-experience, that could wait until after lunch.

Walking around Sandgem was interesting, I knew that the ocean wasn’t too far, the southern reaches of the fields around town almost reached the beach and I was relatively certain that the proximity strongly influenced the town. While it wasn’t a true harbour-town, like Sunyshore- or Canalave-City, there was some fishing based near the beach, giving access to different foods but bringing with it different sorts of dangers, as there were some massive, incredibly dangerous Water-Pokémon. A shudder ran down my spine, as I remembered some of my dreams, of tentacles and destroyed cities. No, the ocean was as much curse as it was blessing.

Even more interesting than the town, were the people. Most simply moved along, doing their own thing, though some gave us odd looks. It got even worse when Claire and I sat down on a bench, enjoying the sun and the luxury of simply doing nothing.

“Is there something on my face?” I finally asked Claire, when the looks got a little too intense.

“Nah, they’re just not used to new people. It was worse back home, if someone new came to town, it was talked about for weeks. Hell, if Aunt Joyce had been there longer, I bet a couple bachelors would have come calling.” Claire replied, without ever opening her eyes.

“I see.” I accepted, not quite sure why I felt so weird about it. To be stuck in a single town for one’s entire life, just the thought made me shudder. It sounded deadly boring, to the point that I’d rather brave the wilds between towns without any Pokémon and hope for the best, if I ever were in that situation. Not that I ever planned to be in it, not with Prince Charming and Vio at my side. My thoughts froze for a moment, when my hand habitually reached for my Pokéballs, only to find them gone. Still at the Centre and healing.

“Let’s get lunch.” I decided, standing up without waiting for Claire’s agreement.

“Sure.” She followed and we quickly found a small place that sold sandwiches, made with fresh seafood. It sounded good and the smell was even better, so we got some and sat down, again taking up a table in the sun.

As we sat there, I noticed a familiar face walking along the street, looking just a little lost. After a moment of consideration, I decided to give fate a small push and called out.

“Cliff, Hey.” The young man in question stopped at my call, looking around for a second to determine where it came from, and when I waved at him, there was a brief moment of confusion before his face focused on Claire, a happy smile appearing.

“Why don’t you talk to him, if he’s interested, you can find Lucas at Professor Rowan’s lab. At least I think so.” I told Claire, standing up, as if to greet Cliff.

“Hello, Cliff. If you are still looking for someone to travel with, an acquaintance of mine is beginning his own Journey.” I paused for a moment, stepping away from the table.

“Claire can tell you all about it, sadly I got to run now.” I added, before he could do more than return my greeting. Claire, on the other hand, glared at me for a moment, before giving him a polite smile. I had a feeling she’d have preferred to delay her talk with Cliff, until it just happened that we were leaving town and it was too late.

“Later, Claire. Bye Cliff.” I grabbed my sandwich, quickly walking away, leaving the perplexed Cliff standing next to Claire.

Outside the shop, I continued walking until I was out of sight, where I stopped, trying to figure out what to do next. When my hand reached for my Pokéballs again, only to come up empty, I decided that getting them back was more important than finishing my lunch, I almost felt naked without their comforting weight at my hip.

As I walked towards the Centre, I noticed a large, avian figure in the sky above the Gym. For a moment, I froze, not certain if some Pokémon was attacking, before I realised that there was a humanoid figure on top of the bird. How glorious that must feel, to be able to ride on one’s partner, soaring through the sky. Maybe, once Prince Charming had evolved into Charizard, he’d be able and willing to carry me through the sky. I’d have to get a couple badges, as the League frowned upon people without the requisite ability to take to the skies, for a variety of reasons, but I should be able to get those.

There was a silly smile on my face, when I made it back to the Centre. There was nobody, but a bored-looking attendant in the lobby, so I could walk right up.

“Hey, I’d like to retrieve my Pokémon, if they are healthy again.” I told her, holding out the chit that indicated which Pokéballs were mine.

“Certainly. Let me check if your Pokémon have finished their treatment.” she nodded, walking into the back. Looking around, I noticed that there were a few reference-books on shelves on the wall, alongside a large map of the region.

Walking over, I studied it, looking at the routes recommended by the Guild and what level of Pokémon we were likely to encounter there. My earlier smile quickly fell, when I realised just how limited our options were. Unless we travelled back to Twinleaf, from where we could skirt the edges of Lake Verity, before making our way to Canalave City, along Route 3 18, there was really only one viable Route, travelling north, to Jubilife City.

Travelling west, would mean one had to cross the Coronal Mountainrange, as it cut across the whole of Sinnoh, separating the east and the west. If not for the relatively easily traversable passage through the mountains, Sinnoh might not even be one Region, but split into Eastern Sinnoh and Western Sinnoh, simply because how hard travelling between the parts was. And travelling South, well, unless one was an exceptional swimmer, traversing the Ocean required specifically trained Pokémon, which neither Claire nor I had. And even if we had, Surfing the Ocean required just as many Badges to get the certification, as flying in the sky did.

So, North it was. Maybe I should look for a guide explaining the local habitats along the route, to find good spots to train, to know which parts to avoid and where I might find additional partners.

“Excuse me?” the attendant called over, pulling me from my contemplation.

“Ah, I’m sorry.” I called back, quickly walking back to the counter.

“Say, is there a place in town where I can sit outside, together with my partner? Maybe in the sun, or something?” I asked the attendant, as I gave the two Pokéballs a quick caress, before putting them away. She studied me for a second, before giving me a nod.

“Go next door, to the Gym. I’m sure nobody will mind if you go up to the roof, normally people fly off from there, well, Sebastian mostly does. Nobody will care if you have your partner out there and I think there’s a bench to sit there, too.” she told me, giving me a conspiratorial smile.

“Thank you very much.” I smiled back, happy at the prospect of quiet solitude.

“Oh, and where can I find the relevant information regarding the route to Jubilife-City? My companion and I will travel there, next, so I should know what is going on there.” I added, stopping myself before walking away.

“Come back after you had your lunch. I can let you look at the current map, we try to keep one current in the back, so people like you can have the latest information.” she replied. I thanked her again, before walking off, intent on having lunch on the roof.