Note #949

Dear diary,

This is getting more and more complicated. I`m still eager to search for any clues, but I have a feeling that my head will soon explode.

We have been in Anabel`s house for a short amount of time, but still, we did get a lot of information. The most important one: Ash Ketchum is still alive! I should be jumping out of happiness, but the truth is that I`m more confused than earlier. What Anabel said was that Ash isn`t the same person anymore. We might not even recognize him when we find him… I fear that he might not want to see us. And we still don`t know where he is. Pretty bad situation if you ask me.

Right now we are on a ferry that swims towards Kalos. In an hour or two we will get to the Cyllage City. We will see what we will do next.

May closed her diary and threw it in her backpack. She stood up from a table and went straight to the coffee machine that was located in one of the shelves. She was really tired after spending the night awake, but she didn`t want to even hear about taking a short nap. She poured dark liquid into a cup and returned with it to the table.

She opened a book that she bought in a bookstore back in Kanto. They arrived in the port an hour earlier and she was able to get the one she wanted. The book was about a Pokemon called Ditto – the one she saw at the cemetery. She really wanted to find any information about their powers, but the only fact she was able to get was that Ditto`s only known move was Transform. Nothing about it being able to use Teleport. It physically couldn`t even learn this move, it could use it only after transforming into certain creatures.

May growled out of anger as she closed the book quickly and threw it at the door to the room. She didn`t see that Paul was entering the room at the same time, and only his reflex saved him from getting a bump on his head. Surprised and scared at the same time, he looked at his friend and automatically understood the reason of her action.

"May, I said that you should rest a bit, just look at yourself" he said while reaching for a small mirror. May was faster than him; she grabbed the item and threw it out of the window. A silent splash could be heard. Paul facepalmed.

"Well, some water Pokemon have just received a new toy" he sighed. "Please, we still have two hours, just take a quick nap" he begged her. She looked at him with annoyance and took a sip of her coffee.

"I already said: I won`t sleep until I find out why this overgrown jelly teleported somewhere in its normal form" she said weakly. "But what about your investigation?"

"I did find something" Paul sat in front of her. "This girl… Serena, was a finalist in an event called 'Master Class' two years ago, in Ash`s first year in Kalos region. Nothing more about her since then."

"Only this?" May asked devastated.

"I also know that she is from Vaniville Town" Paul added. "We should pay her a visit soon before we make any move, otherwise we will still know nothing."

"I know, I know" May grumbled. "Thank you Paul, and... sorry for nearly knocking you out with that stupid book."

"Well… I will forgive you only if you go to bed and rest for the rest of our cruise" Paul shrugged. When he saw a bored look on May`s tired face, he could only smile.

"I need you awake for later, so you will be able to at least walk by yourself, and by looking at our shapeshifting companion I guess she won`t be eager to carry you on her back" the boy turned to one of the beds, where Latias in-human-form was still sleeping heavily. He only hoped that when the time for waking her up came, he wouldn`t get blasted off with Dragon Pulse or something.

May sighed. "Okay, you are right. But can you try to read that book in the meantime? I feel like I did miss something important"

Paul frowned and looked at the book. Its state was more than bad; it looked like throwing it at the metal doors hadn`t been a good idea. But knowing that it would reassure May to the point she would fall asleep, the boy took it and opened it at the first page.

'Chapter 1: The Anatomy of a Ditto'

"Oh great…" Paul moaned.

"All right, I suppose this is the Cyllage City" Paul said, while looking at the map in his hands. "In this town you can buy various clothes and… bikes?"

"Bikes, huh?" May asked. She had just done stretching her body after a nap. "When we find Ash, I must take him here, he still owes me one."

"So Dawn wasn`t the only one who had her bicycle destroyed?" Paul asked, raising his eyes to the girl. His gaze landed not on May, but on Latias – surprisingly, after waking up today she was very calm. But he didn`t mind of course, he had more important things on his mind than to watch over her.

"He did this to Misty too, but from what I heard she had that bike repaired by Nurse Joy." May giggled. "I still can remember the smell of my bike when it got barbecued by Pikachu…"

"We can go to the bike store if you want to see some" Paul offered. "We must find the way to get to Vaniville Town anyway, I hope the seller will know if there are any buses or trains to that town."

"That`s not a bad idea, Latias, you heard him? Let`s go!" May said happily. She started to walk away but was instantly stopped by Paul.

"What?"

"You`re going in the wrong direction…"

"Oh, ok."

"… so there is no other way to get there?" A conversation could be heard in a small bike store. May and Paul were standing in front of an old man who owned the shop. Latias in the meanwhile became more energetic when she saw all of those bicycles – it was sure that if she had an opportunity, she would try all of them.

"I`m sorry you two, there was a bus that drove through Vaniville, but it wasn`t very popular. They closed that line about a year ago." The man sighed. "You must go there by feet"

"Mhm… thank you anyway, sir" Paul said. He went out of the shop and sat on a near bench to collect his thoughts. He knew that if they walked there, they would arrive in the town in a week. They didn`t have that much time, and he was well aware of that.

May, on the other hand, focused on the bikes in the shop. There were many kinds of them: road bikes, mountain bikes, cross bikes… She watched every one of them in the shop, she was amazed of their quality, but she didn`t find anything she liked. Just when she was heading to the exit, Latias stopped her and showed an unusual bike that was standing near the window.

This bicycle was a Hybrid one. It had characteristics of both road and mountain bikes. Also, this one, unlike the others, had matt, black lacquer and interestingly curved handlebar. May must have admitted, this one got her attention.

"Excuse me, how much is this bike?" May asked the seller.

"Sorry, but this one is custom made. The lady who ordered it should be here at any minute… Oh, here she comes!" The man announced with a smile.

May turned to see the woman and… she was kind of surprised. This lady was no more than forty years old, she worn colorful clothes and had dark, brown hair. She surely didn`t look like she would ride on a bike like this.

"Hello there Mr. Hammond! I see that you have something for me" the woman said with a smile. May didn`t want to interrupt them, so she took Latias`s hand and both of them left the shop to join Paul.

"All right, you paid for it earlier, so the only thing I need you to do is to fulfill those papers… you know, warranty and everything…" the man said to the woman while giving her a piece of paper. "You know, I really think that they should revive the bus line to Vaniville, there is no way to get to your city!"

"Yes, I suppose this is a reason why we don`t have many guests" the lady giggled.

"No, but really, those kids that have just left the shop wanted to get to your town." He said. "I feel bad for them, they will have to go by feet for a week or more…"

"They want to get to Vaniville? You should have said that at the beginning!" the woman said and walked to the exit so quickly that she dropped a pen she was holding. She made it just in time; two girls and a boy were about to leave.

"Hey, I heard that you want to get to Vaniville Town, is that truth?" the woman asked.

"Uh… yes, why do you ask?" May responded, quite surprised. Paul and Latias had the same expressions.

"If you wait a couple of minutes, you can go with me! My car stands on the parking lot nearby, and since I am from Vaniville I`ll gladly take you with me!" the woman said happily.

"If it isn`t a problem…" Paul said, embarrassed a bit.

"Of course not! Just wait a bit, I`ll be here in no time!" and she disappeared in the shop again. The teenagers and a Pokemon in disguise looked at each other with a frown, but they eventually shrugged. They couldn`t refuse, especially not now. And the possibility to travel in comfortable conditions was too tempting.

"So, what brings you to Vaniville Town?" the woman asked. They left Cyllage just after the lady packed a bike on the back of her off-road vehicle. They were on the way to Vaniville for an hour now, but it was her first question. May and Paul established what they could tell her earlier, and since Latias couldn`t talk, everything should have gone just as they planned.

"We… want to find a friend with whom we lost contact at some point." May responded. "And again, we wanted to thank you Mistress, you know, for taking us with you…"

"No problem my dear, I like company while I`m driving" the woman said. "And, since I have a daughter that`s also your age, I couldn`t let you travel alone. Kalos may be quite safe, but recently there were rumors about some gangs moving here. So even if you had left before I offered you a ride, I would still see you somewhere on the road and offer to take you with me. And by the way, call me Grace."

"Okay Grace" Paul and May both said at the same time. Latias was as silent as always.

"Uh, is everything alright sweetie?" Grace asked. "You have been silent since we left Cyllage City."

"Well, Katie is mute, so she couldn`t say anything even if she wanted." May said with fake sadness. It did the trick; Grace reddened on her face and remained silent for another couple of minutes. She was punishing herself for not telling the truth, especially when the woman was so kind to them, but it was necessary.

"I`m sorry, I…" Grace started.

"It`s okay, you couldn`t have known about this" Paul said. "You see, she just misses our friend. We had known him for a long time, and Katie always had a strong bond with him. Her mood will change when we find him, I guarantee."

"If I may ask you, why do you want to get to Vaniville Town? It`s very small, and I know everyone out there. I don`t remember any boy moving to our city recently."

Paul and May didn`t think about the answer for this kind of question. They had to improvise.

"Well… We don`t know where he is exactly, but we know that he was in Vaniville. We heard that he had a friend there, so we wanted to pay her a visit and get some information." May explained, slightly stressed. No one in Kalos knew that Ash Ketchum was alive, and since he was somewhat famous in this region, it wouldn`t be a good idea to announce it loudly.

"Hmm… that`s a tough case, indeed" Grace said. "A year ago, I would ask my daughter. She probably knows something, as I said, it is a small city after all, but…"

"But what?" Paul asked.

Grace sighed.

"Let`s say, that… Serena has changed a bit since last year. But I shouldn`t torture you with my personal problems" Grace saddened a bit.

After hearing that name Paul, May and Latias froze. They were travelling with Serena`s mother? That complicated their situation – it must have been THAT Serena.

"Paul, we must think about something very quickly" May whispered to her friend. Paul nodded and looked at the small mirror hanging on the internal part of the car roof.

"Uh… I don`t want to stress you or something, Grace… but what is that?!"