Chapter 1
CRASH! A pile of books now lied on the floor of the local professor's laboratory. Professor Oak turned with a start when he heard the crash. "What in the... Ayako, what have you done now?" The professor stood to his feet and stepped around a corner to look at the pile that was lying in the middle of his study.
"I'm sorry, Professor," a muffled female voice spoke from beneath the books. Oak stepped over and moved a couple of the books off the top of the pile, revealing a young 12-year-old girl underneath. She had long brown hair and was dressed in a simple sleeveless black dress. She was slim in shape. "I just wanted to put a book away...but I had to reach the top shelf." Ayako pointed up. "I tried to climb up, but I just caused the other books to fall on me."
Professor Oak smiled with his aged lips. He shook his head and chuckled. "You can always ask for help, dear."
"But I wanted to do it myself..." Ayako sighed as she looked down. "It's no fair being short."
Oak helped Ayako out of the book pile. "You've still got a few years, Ayako. You'll get taller eventually."
"But I've been the same height for a year now..." Ayako began to cry. "And all of the other kids in Pallet Town are taller then me. Even Amy is taller than I am, and she's a year younger than I am. It's no fair. Why am I only 140 centimeters tall?"
"Well, you still have a few more years of growing to do, Ayako," Oak pulled her close and knelt down to her level. "Some people are tall, some people aren't. Unfortunately, that's just the way it is. Your mother isn't very tall either. She's only 157 centimeters tall, but even so, she still manages well in life. You never know what might happen in life, you just have to make the best of it." Oak smiled and Ayako nodded with a sniffle. "Why don't you go play with the Pokemon out in the field? That's something anyone can do no matter their height."
"All right, Professor," Ayako spoke with a nod. She then turned and walked towards the door out of the laboratory.
Pallet Town was a beautiful place. It was mostly farmland, so the air was clean, the grass was green, and the sky was a bright blue. The sun beamed down upon the town without being blocked by pollution, making the town warm in the colder months. It also had the unfortunate side effect of making it very hot in the summer months. Luckily, however, it was a dry heat, making it feel cooler then other places where pollution created a humid and hot environment.
There were very few people who lived in Pallet Town, but this was due to it only being founded a few years back. Indeed, the town was not much older than Ayako, only maybe 10 years or so more. As well, the citizens of Pallet were very strict about their town, only allowing those who would not harm the clean environment to live there. Indeed, that was why the town had gotten its name. The term "Pallet" was in reference to the beautiful colors of the town that could only be seen because of its environment.
Ayako stepped out of the laboratory and into the fields behind it. Here Professor Oak had many types of Pokemon, all separated by fences and catalogued by species, environment type, and element. Near the lake, he kept the water-types such as Lapras and Psyducks. In the rolling hills, he kept the grass-types such as Bulbasaur and Oddish. In the open fields, the normal-types like So Dodrio and Rattata. Ayako loved looking at them all, and regularly played around with many of them. Today, though, she only leaned on the fence as she stared at them.
"I wish I could be taller..." Ayako sighed as she stared out into the field. She watched the different Pokemon running around and playing. Even the smaller ones were enjoying themselves. "I guess Pokemon don't really feel the same way. I suppose they're all short in a way. Most aren't any taller than me, but they don't mind."
"Well, well, hello there, shorty," a voice called out and Ayako immediately became irate. Ayako turned around to stare right into the chest of Midori Oak, the grandson of Professor Oak.
Midori was a young man, about 13 or so in age. He had brown hair that he had spiked in the front. He wore a pair of black jeans and a green short-sleeved shirt, which matched his eyes in color.
"What do you want, Midori?" Ayako growled as she looked up at him.
"I'm just as surprised about being here as you are. Gramps called me over here, didn't tell me what for."
"Then why are you bugging me?" Ayako turned and leaned on the fence again, still looking quite irate.
"Cause I can."
"Just leave me alone, Midori."
Midori stepped up to Ayako and smiled as he wrapped his arms around her. "Come now, don't be that way. I only want to play with you."
Ayako slipped herself down and out of Midori's arms. "No thanks."
Midori gave Ayako a cold stare. "You'll regret it one day. When you're older and you're together with some jerk, you'll realize your mistake and be wishing you had been with a nice guy like me. I've got money, I'm nice, and I can take care of you easily when we're older."
"You're nice? If you're so nice, then why do you treat me like dirt? You say you care about me, but you call me names, you do things even when I tell you 'no', and you never listen to me. You want me to like you? Try treating me like a person instead of a trophy to win and maybe one day you might impress me enough to call you my friend again." Ayako turned and marched away from Midori.
"Stupid Midori... I hate him so much. Just who does he think he is, anyway? Why would I be interested in a guy like him?" Ayako mumbled as she marched through the town. Without much thought, she marched out of Pallet Town and out onto Route 1.
It took Ayako a few minutes before she fully realized where she was. At that moment, she stopped and stared, looking around her. "I didn't mean to come here..." she trembled. " S-stupid Midori...he made me come out here by making me angry... I-it's okay... I-I just have to turn around and go home... th-that's all..."
Ayako turned around and began to walk back in the direction that she had come from. As she walked, she began to hear terrible sounds. Some sounded like deep, low growls of creatures waiting to jump at her. Others sounded like horrendous beasts rubbing their claws together, enjoying the look of a young human fresh for devouring. She trembled as she continued along, but the path did not seem familiar. Nothing was how it should have been.
"D-do I go left here?" Ayako trembled as she stared at a fork in the path. One seemed to lead off to the right, where she saw nothing but a ledge, while the other seemed to lead on to nothingness. "O-oh no... I'm lost, aren't I?" she whimpered. "Someone... someone please... help me... I don't want to get eaten by a wild Pokemon..." She began to cry.
"Hey there!" a voice shouted and Ayako quickly whirled around in a hope of seeing a savior. What she saw was a boy who couldn't have been more than a year or so older than her. He was taller for sure, likely around 160 centimeters. He was dressed in a white shirt of some kind that was covered in a red short-sleeved jacket. He was also dressed in a pair of blue jeans and red sneakers. Ayako wondered how he could wear so much on such a warm day. The boy had black hair that was short, with only a little of his bangs showing from under his red hat.
On his shoulder was a yellow rat that had two long ears that ended in black fur on the tips. It also had brown stripes on its back, and its tail was shaped much like a lightning bolt, also ending with black fur on the tip.
"Hello!" Ayako shouted, hoping for a savior in this boy. "I'm lost! I need to get back to Pallet Town. Can you show me the way?"
"Pallet Town?" the boy asked as he stepped up to her. He raised his hand and rubbed his nose as he thought for a moment. "Can't say I've ever heard of the place. I'm from Viridian City."
"What are you doing all the way out here, then?"
"'All the way out here'? What do you mean?" The boy pointed to the north. "Viridian City is just about a minute that way."
Ayako turned, noticing a clearing in the forest. Beyond that clearing, she could easily see some kind of buildings beyond. "Viridian...City?" she dropped to her knees. "I'm never going to get back home at this rate!" She dropped her head and tears rushed down her cheeks. "I-I'm lost... I don't know how to get home... I'm going to get eaten by wild Pokemon!" She began to cry.
"Wh-whoa there!" The boy waved his arms frantically, trying to calm her down. "Don't cry! You're not going to get eaten. Don't you have a Pokemon to protect you?"
"No, I don't. I'm not old enough to have Pokemon yet," Ayako continued to cry.
"You don't?" the boy asked as he stared at her quizzically. "Then what are you doing out here?"
"Someone at home made me mad, so I marched away from him... and the next thing I knew... I was here..." Tears were rushing down Ayako's cheeks as she continued to cry.
The boy waved his hands frantically again, but it was doing no good. "Uh... uh... hey! I can take you home!"
"But you don't even know where I live! You've never even heard of Pallet Town, so how can you take me there?"
The boy smirked. "I've got a map!" He pulled out a small device that was long and diamond shaped. He grabbed it from the sides and pulled on it, opening it up to reveal a map on a digital screen. "See?"
Ayako sniffled as she saw the map now in his hands. "W-will that really get us back?"
"No sweat!" the boy shouted. "Just give me a second to see where Pallet Town is on the map, and I can take you there in a jiffy!" He looked down at his map and stared at it for a moment. His eyes scanned it for a moment before he nodded. "Yeap, I know how to get there now. Not a problem, just follow me."
Ayako sniffled again as she stood to her feet. Her legs were now covered in dirt, and she carefully brushed her legs off. "Thank you," she sniffled, and then stepped close to the boy.
"My name's Takeshi, by the way. What's your name?"
"Ayako."
"All right, Ayako, let's get you home." Takeshi turned and began to head south. Ayako followed quickly after, staying close to him.
As the two walked, she stared at the yellow rat on his shoulder. It was smiling happily, enjoying the ride on his shoulder without a problem. "That's a Pikachu, isn't it?" she asked after a few moments.
"Yeap, this is my buddy, Chu," Takeshi responded with a smile.
"So... you're a Pokemon Trainer, then? I know only trainers can get Pokemon..."
"Yeap, I've been a trainer since I was 10 years old."
Ayako stared, wide-eyed. "How did you start so young?"
Takeshi chuckled. "Well, it helps when you run away from home."
"You ran away from home?!" Ayako shouted. "Why would you do something like that?!"
Takeshi winced since she had yelled right in his ear. "Lots of kids run away from home at the age of 10. It's become such a normal thing that people almost expect it in most places. You're considered odd if you haven't left home yet when you turn 10."
"B-but...everything is so dangerous... You could get eaten!" Ayako waved her arms. "Or even worse!" She put her hands to her chin in fear.
"Nah, not with my trusty Pokemon at my side."
"But how did you catch a Pokemon? For that matter, how did you get a Pikachu? I hear they're super rare and can only be found in the Viridian Forest."
Takeshi chuckled again. "Well, they are rare, but I live in Viridian City, you know? I live right next to the forest."
"YOU WENT INTO THE FOREST?!" Ayako shouted loud enough to almost make Takeshi fall over. "But it's crawling with all kinds of creepy, nasty, icky bug Pokemon!"
"Bug Pokemon aren't icky and creepy," Takeshi huffed.
"They're bugs!" Ayako shouted again and Takeshi rubbed his ear.
"So what? They're just bugs."
"B-but...they're so icky...and gross...and they can sting you! They're huge and have really sharp and pointy stingers that hurt a lot!"
"Only Beedrill do... and you don't see many of them. They usually just leave Weedles behind in the forest to grow, and once they evolve into Beedrill, they leave the forest. Besides, aren't you forgetting some of them? Like Butterfree, for example, you can't hate them, can you?"
Ayako trembled. "Butterfree can put you to sleep... and poison you... and stun you... and they'll probably eat you."
Takeshi groaned. "Oh brother... Butterfree won't eat you. They're not even carnivores. They eat plants and leaves, not people."
"A-are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure. I'm a Pokemon Trainer, remember? I know these things." Takeshi turned to Ayako. "And what about you? How old are you?"
"I'm 12 years old."
Takeshi looked Ayako over, and then nodded. "Yeah, you're a bit short to be 12, but your boobs are big enough."
Ayako blushed and covered her chest with her arms. "What is that supposed to mean?!"
"It means you should have left home on your Pokemon journey already. In fact, you should have started it two years ago. Are you sure you're 12? You did say you weren't old enough to have Pokemon..."
"I am 12!" Ayako screamed right in Takeshi's ear. "And my family said I can't be a trainer until I'm 13."
"And you listened to your family?" Takeshi chortled. "Honestly, that's why you run away from home when you're 10. They probably expected you to and were surprised that you didn't yet."
"I-I would never run away from my family! I love my family, unlike you apparently." Ayako folded her arms and huffed as she turned away from him.
Takeshi growled. He was about to speak when he stopped, noticing the land in front of him. They had just reached the edge of Route 1 and were finally arriving at Pallet Town. "This is your home?" he asked as he pointed ahead.
"Yes! Oh my gosh! Pallet Town! I thought I'd never get home!" Ayako rushed forward. "I'm home again!"
"Watch out!" Takeshi shouted.
Ayako screamed as a purple rat jumped out from one of the bushes nearby, leaping at her.
"Pika... CHU!" Chu shouted as it leaped from Takeshi's shoulder, unleashing a bolt of electricity that struck the rat hard. The rat recoiled and tumbled from the electric blast.
"Rattata!" the rat snarled, and then ran off.
"You okay?" Takeshi asked as he walked over to Ayako.
"Th-that was scary..." Ayako whimpered.
Takeshi sighed. "Don't run off like that. Even though we're near your town, wild Pokemon are still around here." He grabbed Ayako's hand, which made her blush. "Come on, let's get you back home."
"Eep!" Ayako squealed as Takeshi pulled her along the path until they were finally back in Pallet Town. Once at the edge of town, Takeshi let her go.
"There, now you're safe. You can run back home now if you want."
Ayako stared at Takeshi for a moment before blushing and looking down a bit. "Thank you... I owe you a lot for saving me. Is there someway I can repay you?"
Takeshi gave a smirk and got close to Ayako. "How about a kiss?" Ayako slapped him hard. "Ow! Hey! I was just joking!"
Ayako folded her arms and turned around with a huff. "Well, then, maybe you shouldn't joke about that. Besides, you deserved that anyway after your comment about my boobs."
"What? They're nice and about the right size for a girl your age."
Ayako slapped Takeshi again. "Pervert!" she shouted and rushed off.
Takeshi rubbed his cheek a moment, and then chuckled. "Well, she's an interesting one."
"Do you think she will fit our objective?" a voice spoke, seemingly from nowhere.
"She needs training, but I think she'll be able to do the job without a problem."
"Then it is time she left her little town of Pallet," the voice responded.
Takeshi gave a nod, and then turned away from Pallet Town, heading back off to the north once again.
