Pokémon Adventures:

The Johto Journey

Chapter One

Winds of a New Beginning

Chocolate and scarlet leaves rustled in the winds outside of the window where fourteen year old Kaelin Moon was sitting at, gazing at the tall grass. Every once in a while a few blades twitched, and Kaelin knew that a wild Pokémon would be there, waiting to be captured. Cold winds rattled the window and spun the wind turbine which was just outside. New Bark Town had always been a quiet place. Too quiet and small for a teenage boy.

Usually at the age of ten, a young boy or girl would make their way to the Pokémon Research Laboratory and receive their first Pokémon and then embark on their Pokémon journey. However, Kaelin did not go on his Pokémon journey when he turned ten.

But now, he was ready. Now he would go out and get his starter Pokémon. His mother was in the kitchen, baking as she always did. Today it was brownies, which just happened to be Kaelin's favourite. He breathed in the warm smell of chocolate and love. He could not imagine himself leaving this village. But he had made up his mind, along with his friend, Bently.

"Kaelin," came her sweet voice.

He lifted his head "Yeah, Mom?"

"Are you still going on your journey?" She asked sweetly.

"Of course I am".

"I thought so. Have you packed everything?" She asked. He eyed his blue drawstring bag he was taking with him and nodded.

"What about socks? Your toothbrush? Pyjamas?"

"Yes Mom". She came over to him "Good boy" and hugged him tightly. "I love you" she announced, and there were tears in her eyes as she uttered the words.

"I love you too, Mom".

There was a knock on the door which dispersed the mood at once. It seemed to echo around the room, filling the house with silence. Kaelin slung his bag over his green tweed jacket before going to the hall. He took a breath before opening the door, "Hey, Ben".

His blonde hair was windswept and his cheeks were rosy. He was wearing a white turtleneck sweater with a blue cardigan over the top, as well as black skinny jeans, trainers and the strap of a grey backpack dangled over one shoulder. There was a smile on his face but his eyes seemed a little pink and puffy.

"Are you ready?" He asked. What a question, thought Kaelin. How could he not leave, leave the comfort of his mom and the security of this forgotten village?

Kaelin nodded.

The oven timer dinged and Mrs Moon bustled off to retrieve the brownies. "Here you are" she said, handing a brown paper bag over to Kaelin and another over to Eric. They were quite heavy.

"Thank you, Mrs Moon" Ben said graciously.

"Oh, just call me Emily, sweetie" she smiled at him.

Mrs Moon slipped a coat over her pink dress and apron and followed them out to the Pokémon lab which was just next door. Eric's mother was waiting for them too. She was a round woman who had curly brown hair which reached her shoulders and a warm smile. "Hullo,Kaelin" she greeted. Ben knocked on the door and they all waited, pondering over which Pokémon Kaelin and Ben would choose. Either Chikorita, Cyndaquil or Totodile. Professor Elm answered. "Greetings, Kaelin and Bently" and welcomed them all inside, although the mothers decided to stay outside.

"You should make this choice yourselves" Mrs Moon told them wisely.

Professor Elm led them up to a machine at the end of the lab, it was almost cylindrical in shape with four legs, and it held three Pokéballs. They gleamed under the bright light of the machine.

"Today, you shall begin your Pokémon journey" he said brightly. "And to start you off on your journey, you shall both receive a partner Pokemon. Now," he said as he turned towards the machine. "Here they are". He took all three of the balls and clicked the middle button, enlarging it to about the size of an apple, before throwing the balls into the air. They opened, and three streams of red light hit the floor, and before they knew it, three different creatures stood before them.

First was Chikorita. It was pale green in colour, with a necklace of buds. It has a large head in proportion to the rest of its body, with large red eyes. It had four short legs with a single nailed toe each, and a small tail. Its most distinguishing feature was the large leaf on the top of its head.

Next was Cyndaquil. Its fur was bluish on top of its body, but creamish on the underside. Its eyes were almost closed, as it was still young. It had four red-colored spots on its back from which its flames erupted.

Thirdly was Totodile. It had red spines on their back and tail, the one on its back was larger with additional ridges next to the back spines. Totodile's head was large, with crocodilian ridges above its eyes. There were two visible teeth on the tip of its upper jaw. On its chest was a pale yellow V-shaped pattern that extended to Totodile's arms, with a line bisecting it at the middle.

"Hmm, I would like -" started Ben but he was interrupted by a

BANG.

All three spun around. The door to the lab had been pushed open with so much energy that it has collided with the wall. A girl was standing in the gap, silhouetted against the light. "I'm Fina!" She proclaimed. "And I'm here for my first Pokémon!" She was illuminated as she stepped under the bright light of the laboratory. She had dark brown hair that reached the bottom of her back. She was wearing a purple dress with white boots and she had an energetic look in her green eyes.

"Oh hello, Fina." Professor Elm greeted her. "We were just choosing our Pokémon." She surveyed everyone in the room for a second before looking at the Pokémon.

"Aww, they are all so cute!" She said, her eyes big and round.

"I pick Cyndaquil!" She said and she bent down to stroke his head. He crooned at her touch and snuggled into her.

"It seems Cyndaquil likes you," said Professor Elm, "I'm sure you'll look after him".

"I'll take great care of him, I promise!" She vowed. "What're your names?" She smiled asked, looking up at the two boys.

"This is Kaelin and I'm Bently" he introduced. "But just call me Ben". His voice had become strange, softer, a mixture between anger and surprise.

"Nice to meet you." She said politely. "I'm sorry, but I should really be going now. Maybe I'll see you around." Both boys nodded and she skipped off happily, a Cyndaquil's Pokéball in her hand.

"Okay" said Professor Elm. "Your choice is now between Chikorita and Totodile".

Kaelin and Ben looked at each other for a split second and then dived. Kaelin had his arms around Totodile, which was the Pokémon he had wanted and when he looked up, Ben was happily hugging Chikorita. They both looked at each other, a little embarrassed but they thanked the professor and assured him they would take good care of their Pokémon.

"Hold on boys. I almost forgot." He went over to his cluttered desk and pulled out a briefcase from under a pile of papers. He flicked it open and pulled out two red devices. They were rectangular in shape but with rounded edges. "These machines are called Pokedexes. They give information about Pokémon. For example, if you came across and unknown Pokémon in the wild, all you have to do is flip the Pokedex open, like so," He flipped the cover open with his thumb. "And point it at the Pokémon. You can also type in the Pokémon's name manually if you prefer. If a Pokémon is caught and scanned with the Pokedex, the device will primarily give the height, weight, cry, other forms, a few sentences about the Pokémon and a picture."

He gave one Pokedex each to Kaelin and Ben. "I hope they help you on your journey, wherever it will take you." Professor Elm's brow furrowed for a moment. "Oh no" he said as he hurried back to his desk, checking the brief case. He pulled out another Pokédex. "I forgot to give it to Fina!" He cried. "What am I going to do?"

"We could deliver it to her, Professor," offered Ben. Kaelin shot a look at him, but said nothing. This seemed to go unnoticed by Professor Elm who was so relieved that he relaxed all his body muscles and slouched back into the chair behind his desk. "Oh, would you? Thank you so much!"

"It's no bother" Ben assured Elm over his shoulder as both he and Kaelin left the lab, fumbling with the straps of their bags.

They went back outside to be met by the orange sky and the breeze in the grass and trees. Kaelin's mom was waiting with an orange-brown something in her hands.

"It's a scarf, as it's getting cold I thought you'd need it." She placed it around his shoulders over his tweed jacket.

"Thanks Mom"

"Kaelin, while you're away, I want you to have this." She pulled a small device out of her apron and held it out in her hand. "It's a Pokégear. You can call people and it shows a map of Johto. When you get to Goldenrod City you can take it to the Radio Tower and they'll activate it so you can listen to the radio." She placed it in Kaelin's hand and as he looked back at her, she had tears in her eyes again. "You'll call me every once in a while, right?" She asked hopefully.

"All the time" he reassured her, beaming. "Thanks, Mom. I suppose this is goodbye." Kaelin hugged her one final time before letting go.

"Don't forget to change your underwear everyday!" She called.

Kaelin's face went bright pink "MOM! I'M FOURTEEN!"

"Oh, I know honey, but you'll always be... my little boy."

Was it the smell of the brownies, his crying mother or her loving words made it even harder for Kaelin to take that first step away from her? He did not look back at her, because he knew it would make it so much easier to stay. But he could not spend his entire life in this small village living with his mom forever.

Ben said goodbye to his mother too and as the two boys walked away together in unison, the two mothers stood together, waving them goodbye. "I hope they'll be alright, Emily." said Ben's mom.

Mrs Moon sniffed and wiped her eyes with her frilly cream apron.

"I know they will be."