The two halves of the bridge stood raised almost in salute as the ship passed slowly beneath them. Many passengers had already gathered themselves and their belongings above decks, allowing a moment of appreciation for the impressive engineering on show as their journey approached its end. Waters calm and skies clear, they could hardly have asked for better weather as the ship made its way into the harbor and came to a gentle stop.
For one of them, it was her first glimpse of the region she would be calling home for the next twelve months.
In just a week or two, a new Battle League season would be starting up across the world, every region beginning the search for its own latest champion. While the vast majority of those taking part in the near year-long tournaments hailed from the regions they were being held in, there would almost always be a small handful of competitors from overseas, eager to test their skills against the best that the rest of the world had to offer.
And that was why she was here. From first registering herself in the Mauville City gym, quickly becoming a rising star in her native Hoenn, now was the time, she had decided, to make her own excursion. Her gym had gotten in contact with another at her destination to make it official, and after a few characteristically brief goodbyes, she found herself heading out into a whole new journey.
Stepping off the slightly shaky gangway, travel bag slung over one arm, she couldn't help feeling just a little relieved when her feet touched down on solid earth for the first time in several days. A couple of taps at her watch showed the location of the gym she had been registered with, in the next town over. It wouldn't take long, she thought to herself, as she entered a whole new city, and a whole new world. New experiences. New challenges. New opponents.
