**This story is dedicated to a child of whom I believe was my little sister. She once was but has never been.**
(A/N: The character named Dawn in this story is not the canon character.)
Finally, I'm going home after enduring all the training and battling. Now, before I head to the Pokémon league, will be the best time to visit and prepare for my biggest challenge yet.
I inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh scent of what the evening trail had to offer. The scenery was calm and very enjoyable. Trees, flowers, green grass, and Pokémon covered Route 30 as my companion and I traveled south.
"Once we get home, we'll take a well deserved rest for the week. Sounds good, eh Flame?" I asked my Typhlosion, who was steadily walking at my side.
Our previous battle left obvious signs in the form of dirt and mud on my partner's navy-blue fur, not to mention ruffled up. I made a mental note to groom her after she healed up.
She happily looked at me and made a cry in agreement.
"And I get to see Dawn again," I said, smiling at a picture she drew for me before I left on my journey.
I grabbed my one-strapped bag and Flame's Pokéball as I double checked all my supplies before heading for the door.
"You have everything?" I heard my mom's voice in the other room.
Looking around my room, I triple checked after looking over myself. My short black hair was combed, and the white shirt with navy blue jeans I wore, fresh and clean. "Yeah, I think so," I answered back. This was it; I'm finally going on my journey. Usually kids go on journeys at the age of 10 but from what I've heard, most of them didn't last a couple months. Some came home crying, got lost, or found the courage to continue.
To my anger, my mother forced me to wait till I was 16 years old to travel the world. No matter how long or loud I pouted, she wouldn't give in. I knew she was right though. Before I chose to run away, she offered to teach me various skills such as outdoor camping, training, food shortage situations, battle styles, and survival in those emergency cases. Everything she taught me, I knew it would be useful in the long run so I decided to go along with her plans.
I made my way towards our front door, slipping on my hiking boots and a black rain jacket. My mother came to meet me while I searched around for the other family member. "Where's Dawn?" I asked.
"I don't know," she replied. "Dawn! Your brother is leaving! Come say bye!"
"I'm getting something!" a squeaky voice yelled out.
My mom shook her head. "Jeez, always distracted." I smiled at her truth. "Awww, I'm going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too," I said, hugging her.
We released a moment later when my six year old sister came running down the hallway with something in her hand. She was so cute. Her short black hair bounced as she ran down the hall and her outfit increased her cuteness incredibly.
Dawn ran up to me and met my eyes. "Could you catch this Pokémon for me? Pretty please?" She handed me a small paper which held a drawing.
I instantly recognized the Pokémon as Lucario. I grinned at her drawing, which was pretty good, copied from one of the books I gave her. "If I find one, I will," I told her.
She held her hands together. "Promise?"
Unfortunately Lucario aren't found in Johto, only in Sinnoh. But because I didn't want to disappoint her, I left out that detail. Besides, how could I say no to those adorable puppy looking eyes of hers? I bent down to her height and smiled warmly. "I promise."
"Yay!" She ran up and gave me a tight hug. "Bye brother! Come back soon," she said looking excited and sad.
"You bet," I replied, patting her back before standing straight again.
My mom smiled and looked at me. "Make sure you call me so I know you're ok."
"I will," I said, storing the picture in my bag before pulling open the front door. It was lightly raining outside and grey clouds filled the sky. Surely wasn't the best of days to start a journey. "Take care mom. Love you," I said, walking onto the door steps.
"Love you too and be careful," she replied, worriedly.
I looked next to my mother at Dawn. How she resembled our mother so much. "Bye Dawn."
"Bye brother!" she yelled out, waving her hand.
And with the end of our goodbyes, I was off, headed towards the outskirts of New Bark Town.
Flame made a sound to grab my attention, curiously trying to look at the drawing.
I noticed and held it out for her to gaze upon. "Sorry, I guess I've never shown it to you. This Pokémon is called Lucario," I explained. "It's Dawn's favorite... I promised to catch one for her."
She looked at me again but with a disappointing frown this time. "What? I didn't catch one yet because Lucario aren't found in this region," I defended, scratching behind her ear. "But we might have to do some traveling after the league though."
Flame nuzzled up to me in agreement, clearly enjoyed by my touch until she yawned a moment later. "You're probably tired after a battle-filled walk." She nodded with tired eyes as I reached for her Pokéball at my belt. "Take a rest until we get to the Pokémon centre."
We stopped as a red beam engulfed my starter, returning her to the device in my hand. I miniaturized the ball, clipped it to my belt, and continued walking down the dirt trail. After one last look at my sister's drawing, I placed it back into my bag.
After half an hour of walking, my feet began aching for rest. Traveling by foot these past few days took a toll on my body. The lights in the distance could barely be seen as it grew darker and I didn't feel like traveling there tonight. So I decided to divert a good ways off the trail to a small grassy area surrounded by trees. To my surprise, it looked comfortable.
Resting my bag on the ground, I sat down against a tree, excitedly thinking about seeing my family again after a year has passed. I pulled out the drawing again and examined it after what felt like the millionth time. Only the dark outline of the Lucario was visible at this time since the sky was nearly filled inevitable blackness of night with the stars and moon beginning their light show.
The area was so peaceful and quiet. Only the leaves made a symphony of whistling as a slight breeze flew by.
I sighed, resting my head up against the tree, closing me eyes and holding the picture close. Hope I can get some rest for the big day tomorrow.
Suddenly Flame's Pokéball shook, forcing me to look down at her Pokéball with one eye. "Try get some rest Fl-" I was interrupted mid-sentence as I diverted my gaze towards a blue light I noticed from the corner of my eye. As the light increased in brightness I immediately recognized it as an attack headed straight for me at high speed, making me go wide eyed. I shot up immediately but as soon as I turned, it hit me somewhere on the side with such force to slam my whole being into the tree and onto the ground. Immense pain surged throughout my body as consciousness quickly slipped away.