Excerpt 2 for the Pioneer of Jasmines

Old Joe glances up from his work-in-progress at the young man in front of his souvenir stall. Its that time of the year again, he thought. There was an annual period when a certain amount of foreign tourists would come to the Cerulean Cave. Unlike normal tourists, however, these foreigners kept to themselves vigilantly, almost as if they were in an occult. This young man, however, seems to be different. Dressed like any other, Old Joe can sense that his demeanor is similar to those "odd tourists", as he called it, yet there's something else in his eyes, something that drew him to Old Joe's hand-crafted souvenirs.

"This carving of Metagross looks very... lifelike."

"Ah, sonny, great tastes there. It was carved in likeness to the one that belonged to an ex-Champion of the Hoenn region, who traveled here not long after his resignation. You can have it, along with that one of Groudon over there." Old Joe points to another carving he made at the far corner of his stall.

"Have you seen the legendary Pokemon too, sir?"

"Not in my time, sonny - not in my time. Can't say the same about you though," Somehow, Old Joe could imagine this polite young man in the presence of legendaries as being quite astute. Probably just me getting senile, he chided himself.

The young man smiled briefly at the comment, bought his wares, and left. As he rounded a corner, Old Joe finally noticed a metal gauntlet upon the side of its backpack.

The gauntlet blinked at him before its owner - no, trainer - disappeared from sight.

*               *              *

"You're in Kanto, for goodness sake. Why don't you buy some Pokeballs?"
"You know the reason well, Dalson - I chose this path when I had Corrin, and I'm not gonna turn back."

Zheng was answered with the rolling of his acquaintance's eyes. The debate between them has been going on for a long time - whether to use Pokeballs or not in their trainer careers. And in this final moment, it seems that their paths have diverged for good.

"Cheer up, Dalson - its not like we can't still be friends."
"Just promise me we'll meet again someday."
"Of course, though I take it you're going to start your adventures here?"
"Yes - what about you, Zheng?"
"I think I'll pay a visit to the Viridian Forest. There's a rumour I'd like to invetigate."
"Really? And what's that?"

Zheng only smiled to his friend's protests. The two friends enjoyed the rest of the evening with each other, knowing that the imminent departure will separate them for a long time.