552 LOG 1: The Visitor from Another Region!

Waves ahead roared and rolled down. The sand was the most gentle of gold-- almost earthen and muted. Then, there was the seaweed, the flora of those salty waters, as deeply green as any high summer foliage. A yacht of platinum arrived at exactly ten in the morning, the same time S.S. Stravinsky made its way to the Arid Archipelago.

At the deck of the yacht, she held her blonde hair that glided with cold breeze. The woman who was fairly tall, at about five foot four waved at the town of Undella. Her apparel was mostly blue with a few tear shaped ornaments encompassing the left side of her head and the middle of her chest.

She looked very neat that one would suspect the slightest dirt would hurt her more than what a bullet could do.

Her smile widened. "Finally, I can have my rest."

An old man approached her. His back was never askew and he donned a butler's tux. "Madam Cynthia," he called.

It was about a minute she was tuned to the shore's sight before she noticed her butler coming by. "What is it, Prescott?"

"There's been recent conflict in the town," he reported, "Most shops aren't quite opened yet, especially within the area of the Riches' Villa. It's been a bloody massacre, I heard."

"It's passed. Unova's shorelines may not offer the greatest of the great, but I've dearly missed this place. Not to worry, I'll let the officers do their work."

The yacht uttered a squawk as sailors buckled ropes around it to the reel of the pier. Cynthia let out her childhood spirit that intensified when she saw a local ice cream shop. She must've missed their ice cream here as well.

She thought having a vacation would give her some space from the Sinnoh's league association and her fans. But she thought entirely wrong. The moment she stepped upon the fainted wooden planks, people stampeded her.

Cynthia was palled with the screams of her Unova fans, all begging for her signature. She was, however, tuned to the shop, afraid they might run out of any flavors. With the people on her way, moving and pushing them aside, she deduced, would be a disappointment to them. Cynthia may be humble, but she doesn't like to lose any fans.

She pulled out her pen immediately and signatured their pads. She was in so much hurry that her signature was more of a curvy scribble.

Thirty minutes past ten, the crowd finally abandoned her, all contented. Cynthia wasted no opportunity and dogtrot while Prescott brought all her luggage ahead to her villa.

There were a lot of flavors she could choose from, but as always, Cynthia bought the vanilla flavored one topped with a tiny single cherry. It wasn't a Castelia, but the flavor and the Vanillite cone was in her zone.

She came to her villa thereafter, a modern, luxurious vacation home. There, she arranged the clothes from her luggage to the wardrobe.

"Miss Cynthia," the butler called.

"What is it?" She asked, brushing her teeth inside the restroom.

"There's someone waiting for you in the sitting. She said she is eager to meet you."

She spat out and gargled. "Who is this she?"

"I can't say, miss."

All this made Cynthia curious. She went out where she would find herself with a famous gym leader in the Unova region.

"You didn't tell me you were going here, Cynthia."

"My, if it isn't Elesa."

She chuckled. "So? Vacation?"

"Yup. That is correct."

"Well, good luck with finding entertainment here. Cities are closed down, the league's suspended to a later date."

"That's what I've heard from the news. Team Plasma?"

"Yes. The Pokemon International Police are still trying to find them."

"They don't seem to be making progress. Those police, they can't even find the remnants of the organization in my region. Though, I've offered my help, Detective Looker disagrees with me."

"He did the same with Alder. Oh, and have you heard of his new assistant?"

"The small girl from Kalos? Ah, yes, for a matter of fact. The local gang member, they say."

"Well, it appears this detective cut her out too for a mission to track down Team Rocket. Ever heard of those crooks? They're quite infamous here."

"Oh really? At Sinnoh, their members would barely reach my tenth finger. Yes, I've heard of Team Rocket."

"They're especially looking for this Luna girl."

Cynthia was frozen.

"Bells ringing?"

"Y-- yes, I've encountered her before. Tough woman."

"She won against you? One of the strongest champions of all time?"

Cynthia stared at the clock. "It was not like that exactly. I never lost to her."

"If I may ask, what happened between you and this Luna?"

She smiled. "To be frank, I don't really remember."

"Well, maybe you'll recall it some day, Cynthia. Oh, and have you heard about this archipelago in Unova's bottoms?"

"Bottoms?" She chuckled.

"Yes, forgive me. Our slangs are quite different, I forgot."

"I did hear a thing or two about that. I think someone even gave me a brochure. If I'm not mistaken, it's called the Arid Archipelago composed of seven main islands. Surprisingly, the names are based on composers of a genre of grace and equilibrium."

"Maybe if you're free, from your other vacation agendas, we can go explore the place together. It's a musical wonderland there."

"I suppose we could, Elesa. You don't have any competitions coming up, do you?"

"With Unova's current situation like this? None, none so far."

"Then, you have yourself an arrangement."

"Cool. Call me whenever you feel like it."

Elesa's phone rang.

"S-s-sorry. It's Skyla. I'll have to answer this one."

"No problem. Go ahead."

At the edge of the cloud there was a brilliant white patch, like a turning page catching the sun. The rest was dove grey with a subtle hint of purple, just enough to announce the coming sunset.