Tales of

Sinnoh

De boot richting Sunyshore vaarde gestaagd door de kalme wateren van de zee. Finn hing ietwat loom over de railing, terwijl de zoute wind aan zijn lange haar trok. Zijn ogen waren gericht op de eindeloze blauwe vlakte voor zich. Ze waren inmiddels al uren aan het varen, maar nog altijd bleef de horizon leeg. De zon had zich al ver in het westen gezet en verwarmde zijn bleke gezicht. Finn betrapte zich er op dat zijn ogen af en toe dicht vielen.

Een schaduw die over hem heen trok deed hem opkijken en hij zag het zwarte silhouet van een vogel op het water. Ark vond de zee fantastisch. Hij liet zich hoog in de luchtstromen optillen, om zich vervolgens met een noodgang weer naar beneden te laten vallen. Vlak voor hij het water zou raken, sloeg hij zijn vleugels weer uit, om het hele spektakel vervolgens weer opnieuw te doen. Finn werd er bijna duizelig van.
De bult onder zijn vest bewoog en voorzichtig stak een jonge Rockruff zijn kop naar buiten. Wolf haatte de zee. Finn had hem met al zijn overtuigingskracht moeten overhalen om het veilige land te verlaten. Het schommelen van de boot maakte de pup vreselijk onrustig en hij had hem uiteindelijk in zijn vest moeten stoppen om hem te laten stoppen met ijsberen. Hij was toen zowaar even kort in slaap gevallen, maar het opgewekte gekras van Ark had hem gewekt. Wolf jankte zachtjes en likte de kin van Finn. Zijn we er al?
"Niet lang meer," mompelde Finn, terwijl hij de pup even afwezig over zijn kop aaide.

Ze bleven nog een tijdje zo staan, in de hoop iets aan de horizon te spotten, maar uiteindelijk besloot Finn dat hij maar beter iets anders kon gaan doen om de tijd te verdrijven. Eens zien waar zijn zus uithing. Hij duwde zich van de railing en draaide zich om. Wolf spitste zijn oren en gaf een korte blaf in herkenning. Alsof ze zijn gedachten gehoord had, stond Lucky daar. De Riolu keek hem met grote, nieuwsgierige ogen aan. "Lucky," bracht hij verrast uit, terwijl hij snel om zich heen keek of hij een glimps van Sia op kon vangen. Hij zuchtte kort. "Je weet dat je niet te ver van je trainer af mag dwalen," probeerde hij streng te zeggen, terwijl hij door zijn knieën zakte om haar over haar bol te aaien. Wolf wurmde zich verder uit zijn vest en drukte zijn neus tegen die van de Riolu ter begroeting.

It had not taken Sia long to realize that she hated travelling by boat. They had sailed across lakes before, for small amounts of time, but never the open sea and quite as long as the journey from Kalos to Sinnoh. The first set of rough waves had sent her running straight for the railing, throwing up over the edge. The whole journey she had been in a constant state of nausea, waiting for it to be over, but knowing that it would not until they reached Sunyshore City.

There had been an attempt to sleep it off, but she had ended up at the deck again. Staring at the water stretching endlessly in all directions seemed to be the best approach to battling her sickness. Considering how much time had already passed, it should not take them too long to reach Sinnoh now. Although any minute longer on this boat felt like torture. It would be a while before she would agree to set foot on one again.

Shrottle was resting in her lap, while Lucky could not sit still and started wandering around. Sia was having trouble keeping an eye on her right now because of how tired she was. One blink and the riolu was gone from her vision. Not that she had gotten far, she could hear her brother around the corner, telling Lucky she should not stray too far from her trainer. "I guess she's bored because of this stupid boat ride," she called from the spot she was sitting, not able to keep the annoyance from her voice.

Toen ze de hoek omliepen stuitte Finn op zijn zus. Ze zag er niet beter uit dan toen ze voet hadden gezet op de boot. Normaal was haar huid iets gebruinder dan dat van hem, maar nu zag ze lijkwit. Er stonden donkere kringen onder haar ogen. ”Ik ken er nog één..” mompelde Finn toen Sia geïrriteerd opmerkte dat de Riolu zich waarschijnlijk verveelde. Ze waren al ruim twee dagen aan het varen. Het was duidelijk te merken dat iedereen naar het einde van de tocht toe leefde.

Behalve Ark misschien. Finn keek even omhoog om te zien of hij de schaduw weer kon spotten, maar de Taillow was verder voorruit gevlogen. Hij pakte de rugtas van zijn schouder en ritste deze open. Zijn blik viel neer op de witte envelop die er in lag. Een brief van zijn ouders, die hem een plek bij de Rangers zou moeten garanderen. Sia was uiteraard al aangenomen. Zelfs zonder de reputatie van hun ouders, zou ze al indruk maken met haar jaren aan ervaring. Finn pakte een fles water uit zijn tas en reikte die naar zijn zus. ”Hoe voel je je?” vroeg hij, al was het antwoord vrij duidelijk. Misschien kon hij haar afleiden door haar pratende te houden. Hun reis was wat ongemakkelijk begonnen toen Finn met haar was meegestuurd. Maar dit had zich snel weer hersteld nadat Sia de eerste golf van misselijkheid over zich heen had gekregen. Nu kon Finn zich op zijn minst een beetje nuttig maken, in plaats van als een blok aan haar been te hangen.

A moment after calling out, her brother walked around the corner, Lucky following him back to her trainer. It seemed like no one enjoyed the long boat ride, except for Finn's taillow perhaps, since he could fly. They were all just waiting to reach Sinnoh to start their journey there.

Sia took the bottle of water that was handed to her, showing her brother the slightest of smiles. "Thanks. I still feel like shit and I don't think it's going to pass until I'll have solid ground under my feet," she commented with a sigh. She hated being sick because it made her vulnerable and dependent on others. Just like both of their parents.

She opened the cap on the bottle to take a sip of the water, still being careful not to trigger another wave of nausea. "Looking forward to working as a ranger yet?" she asked, knowing that it had been a while for him.

Finn agreed with her that she would probably not feel alright until they reached the shore. It would have been nice if there had been a solution, but she knew there was none except for what she was already doing. Sitting on the deck and keeping her eyes on the horizon as much as she could. Sia let out an amused huff herself when her brother told Lucky she would not have to go on boat trips anytime soon because of her trainer. The raven-haired woman petted the pup when she climbed on Finn's lap since her own was already taken by Shrottle.

"It shouldn't," she repeated when her brother mentioned it should not take long anymore. The real work would start then, but she was looking forward to it. While this was a new region, the tasks were similar.

Which was where Finn's doubts came from. Sia had asked him if he was looking forward to it and at first, she was met with a hum and silence before he said he hoped that it was like learning how to ride a bike. Meaning he was afraid he did not know how to anymore. "I'm sure you'll be fine," she told him, looking at him for a moment instead of the horizon. She meant it. Even though it was a little annoying that he had been sent with her, she loved her little brother and she knew he had potential. He just had to trust himself a little more. "Do you already have something in mind you want to catch here?"

Switching subjects seemed to have been the better idea. It was quite clear that Finn did not want to think about everything Crescent Moon just yet. When Sia asked him if he knew what he wanted to catch in Sinnoh, her brother remained quiet for a bit, clearly not having thought through the possibility yet. They were both used to having their standard team of two around.

"A shinx would suit you," she agreed, knowing how powerful their father's Luxray had been. It started as a cute little pokémon but could become a fierce protector in the end. It would make her task of keeping an eye out on her brother a lot easier if he had strong pokémon to accompany him.

Finn added that he was not in a hurry, having his hands full on the two currently in his possession. Sia chuckled, knowing how true that statement was. She glanced at Lucky and Shrottle for a moment, knowing that they could cause as much trouble as Wolf and Ark. "He'll just have to get used to it," she replied when Finn mentioned rockruff's jealousy.

She knew he would return the question. "I don't know yet, I'll just see what I come across." A boring answer perhaps, but it was the truth. She had not thought out a specific team for herself.

Sia could guess his reply by the grin on his face. He was going to name something she did not like as a suggestion. She rolled her eyes when he mentioned beautifly and how mom would like that. While she was not as scared of them as her mother was, she did not like them either. "Great idea," her voice dripping with sarcasm after which she let out an amused chuckle. No, she would just have to see what ended up on her path.

From the skies sounded a familiar call. It was Finn's taillow that wanted to alert them of something. Sia looked back at the horizon, noticing the tiny speck of land that was growing slowly in the distance. Sinnoh. Her brother and Lucky jumped up immediately to go and stand at the railing. "It's almost over," she muttered as she picked up Shrottle and put the sewaddle on her shoulder before she joined Finn and Lucky to watch the last bit of their boat journey get shorter and shorter with the nearing shores. "We'll arrive in Sunyshore, so we can do a little exploring before we head over to Hearthome," she said while keeping her eyes on the horizon.

Now that there was something to see, something to hold onto when it came to how long they would still have to sit on this boat, the journey seemed to go a lot faster. That far off speck in the distance grew larger and larger until they could see its mountains, the shoreline, the first signs of the harbour they would arrive at shortly.

Instead of an empty ocean, there were people on sailboats and paraglides. While Sia could also enjoy her alone time, she was happy to see something else than the endless ocean. A busy city seemed like heaven right now.

Her brother asked how long they had until they needed to sign in at the base. Sia tore her gaze away from the shoreline and looked at him, "Three days, so we got time." She had done that on purpose so that they would have some time to adjust before having to start their work. "I like that idea," she answered when Finn started about renting a hotel room so that she could get a good rest and get rid of the nauseous feeling that had been plaguing her ever since this boat had left Kalos. "I'm sure there are some nice places around here. Who knows, maybe I'll feel normal tomorrow."