[attr="class","rigidw"]

Phone? Check. Coffee? Check. Team accounted for? A Pokeball for Solomon, another for Honoka. Double check. All of his most important belongings were accounted for, and he was officially out of excuses. Victor zipped up his thin windbreaker as high as it would go, and prepared to brace himself against the chilly December air. It was time to hit the road. [break][break]

He had lingered in Slateport a little longer than he had intended but found that he didn't have much in the way of regrets as he crossed the northern threshold from the city onto Route 110. Victor had forgotten what it was like to mingle with strangers and enjoy the comfort of human connection, even if those moments were fleeting. It had proven to be a nice change of pace from the typical solitude that marked his travels. Maybe he should give up the roaming and find somewhere more permanent to settle down... you know, until the next Megapolan invasion, or Ultra Beast attack, or impending meteor strike. Victor sipped some of the hot coffee he was carrying in his dented thermos. Nah, he still had an unfortunate modicum of self-preservation kicking around up there; he'd settle down when he finally keeled over. [break][break]

But at least the mulling over of things proved to be a nice distraction from the monotony of walking. By the time he came back to a full awareness of his surroundings, Victor found himself nearing the mouth of the winding, timeworn path that ran beneath the Cycling Road. It was a good time of year to be taking the footpath, Victor found. The waters that lapped at the edges of the road had receded somewhat, giving him a little more room to skirt the edges of the taller patches of grass and avoid any wild Pokemon. But as he began his meandering trek along the fringes of the road, something caught his eye. [break][break]

To his right, beneath a pair of pillars that supported a portion of the Cycling Road above, was a peculiar rock formation. Victor wasn't sure exactly how to describe it; maybe you could call it a large slab, or shelf? Most of it was still submerged, but the waters were clear enough and the mid-morning light strong enough that he could plainly spot the most remarkable detail of the Rhyhorn-sized object; it was absolutely covered in spiraling, fossilized shells. [break][break]

It was actually a little unsettling, Victor thought, as he squinted his eyes to get a better look at it all. There were so many of them; slotted together like puzzle pieces, piled on top of each other, forming a mountain of prehistoric death. Victor stared as he contemplated what sort of extinction event must have occurred in ancient Hoenn to bring the death of so many Pokemon so suddenly. Maybe he'd be a fossil too, some day.