Zero.
It was dark. A light tapping echoed in the room. A light shown in the distance; a figure walking closer. The tapping stopped and a bored sigh could be heard. As the figure came closer, the faint silhouette of a Xatu became apparent.
"It's time, Xatu," a deep voice said replacing the tapping. "Fetch Alakazam. It's time for her final test."
The Xatu bowed and turned to leave.
"Oh, and Xatu?" He stopped. "Espeon too. It's a bit. Dark. In here." His droning voice filled the room as he laughed at his own joke.
Before long, the Xatu reappeared with an Alakazam and Espeon right behind. Their footsteps echoed in the great room before each coming to a stop, one by one. They waited.
"Espeon, my dear, it's terribly dark in here. Be a doll, and fix that for me, would you?"
Espeon's eyes began to glow and narrow before the red gem on his forehead began radiating and brightly lighting the entire room, revealing it to be a cave. The Espeon and Xatu perched diligently on either side of an ominous man in a throne. The Alakazam stared at him head on, as if communicating in another way.
"Bring in the dog," the man demanded. The Alakazam closed her eyes and awaited as the Xatu appeared from behind the man herding a small Poochyena. The small dog began barking furiously, though not attacking. The Alakazam began to levitate, and a faint purple glow formed around her. The Poochyena retreated slightly as the Alakazam opened her glowing blue eyes and fired a blast of psychic energy at it. It yelped as it was thrown back against the wall, hitting the floor of the cave with a deafening thud and causing debris to roll down.
The man started to clap, chuckling at this success. The Xatu and Espeon were the only to notice the exhausted Alakazam, now kneeling on the floor, breathing heavily. They approached the tired Pokèmon as the man continued to laugh obliviously to himself.
Hoenn.
The sound of a truck engine steadily getting louder woke Griselda. She rolled over in her bed and looked at the clock on her wall. It said it was eleven a.m. She groaned, aggravated about sleeping in, when she heard the truck engine cease. Climbing out of her bed and getting over to her window, she saw a middle-aged woman slam the door and walk around to the back.
Great. No kids. Maybe a husband. Whatever.
Griselda closed her curtains and walked over to the vanity next to her window. She combed out her long, black hair. It flowed gracefully down past the waistline of her lithe form. She hated her long hair, the only reason she hadn't cut it in years was because her mom wouldn't let her. Her parents didn't let her do much. Her mom modeled her just like as if she were her own life size barbie doll, and her dad was the typical overprotective dad. Because of this, she couldn't become an adventuring Pokèmon trainer until her eighteenth birthday. Just six more months, until . . .
"Griselda! Breakfast is ready," Griselda's mom called from the floor below. She sighed with a heavy heart, staring into her cerulean eyes for a moment longer before placing her Huntail comb back on top of the vanity and slinking downstairs into the kitchen.
As Griselda reached the first floor, the smell of recently cooked eggs and butter engulfed her senses and her eyes watered with delight. Her face brightened as she deeply inhaled and walked over to her mother, whom was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee in front of a plate of scrambled eggs and a biscuit.
"This smells wonderful, Mom," she said enthusiastically. "Did Dad make them?" Griselda's mother raised a cautious eyebrow and looked up from the coffee she was sipping.
"You think you're funny, don't you?"
Griselda gave her mom a humored laugh and fixed herself a plate of eggs for herself. "Sorry," she mumbled, pouring herself a glass of coffee. She sat back down at the table across from her mom. There was awkward silence between the two as they picked at their eggs when finally, Griselda said, "So. Someone moved in next door?"
"I can't see how you can drink that crap black, Griselda," her mom interrupted, pointing her coffee. Griselda always drank her coffee black. She thought adding cream and sugar like her mother did ruined the taste of it. "Oh, yes. I think it's just a small family of two. We should get to kn-"
"Oh, I think I hear Dad calling, Mom, I'll talk to you later." Griselda swiftly stood and backed away from the table, flailing around in her pajamas to get outside before her mom could convince her to go meet the neighbors. Luckily, she had spotted Professor Birch walking towards the house when she did.
"Dad, I've been thinking. It's only a few more months before I turn eighteen. Can't I go travel now?" Griselda knew his answer already, but if she kept asking, he had to change his mind eventually.
"Griselda, no, you're still in your pajamas, and you don't even have any Pokèmon suitable for a long journey like that, nor do you have any supervision," said Professor Birch, paying no mind to his daughter as he walked toward the house, flipping through a newspaper.
"But Dad, I have Blaziken, and I'm nineteen, do I really nee-"
"No, Griselda, you cannot go; you're too young." His voice was firm and he looked up at Griselda to look her in the eye. This time he meant it. Though, it was almost hard for her to tell. The seriousness in his eyes didn't match his bare face, and even more so didn't match his khaki surfer shorts with a white lab coat. Griselda's dad always dressed funny.
Griselda heard footsteps approaching, but she paid no mind to it as her dad added, "Maybe if you had a companion."
She saw him eying whomever was behind her and said defiantly, "Dad, I'm nineteen, I don't need a babysitter. . ." She turned around and her face fell in horror at whom she was staring in the eye. It was a boy her age.
"You've got to be kidding me," Griselda left with an angry huff, knocking the boy with her shoulder as she walked by. She continued grumbling to herself as she walked in her house, not even acknowledging her mother.
"Griselda?" she called after her daughter as she ran upstairs to her bedroom.
She threw open the door to her room and angrily threw her long hair up into a tight, messy bun. She finished it off by throwing on a pale hunter green beanie and some fingerless leather gloves. "You want to play this game?" she breathed, opening the drawer to her vanity and pulling out a simple Pokè Ball.
"Then let's play," she said authoritatively, dropping the ball to the floor, releasing a burly Blaziken into the middle of her bedroom. Griselda sighed as her faithful companion looked down at her with cautious eyes, her sudden rage gone. Realization hit her.
"Dad!" She called, outside again, having left in a hurry with Blaziken high on her tail. "Dad, I-"
"Great! I'm glad you're here, Griselda! You forgot to say hello to our new neighbors. This is their son, Tobias." Crestfallen, she came to a halt. "That's great, dad, bu-"
"And I have wonderful news!" he couldn't keep the elation off of his face. "Tobias has agreed to go with you on your very own Pokèmon journey!"
Blaziken peaked around to look at the professor from behind Griselda and then at the boy standing next to him. He cooed quietly as his owner stayed silent. Her mouth twitched into somewhat of an annoyed smirk and Blaziken rested a talon on her shoulder. She eased up greatly.
"Fine," she managed to spit out.
Griselda walked up to the boy and looked him up and down. Disgusted, she held out her hand.
"Griselda," she introduced herself, fighting back a snarl.
"Great! I'm going to go talk to your mother." And just like that, Professor Birch was off. Tobias took her hand awkwardly and shook it. He yanked it back as she said, "Listen, I don't like this any more than you do, but I need to get out of here. So shut up and play along until we're out of sight," and she stormed off, back in her house.
Tobias looked up at the massive Blaziken that was left in her wake. He looked just as genuinely confused, but followed after his trainer anyway.
He was a very tall boy, lanky and skittish. Plainly dressed, all he wore was a regular green polo and khaki pants with a standard black bookbag. The most interesting thing about him was his unkempt brown hair. Nervously, he followed the beauty before him, wary of the Blaziken somewhere behind him.
Their door had been left open, so he stepped in, lingering in the the doorway awkwardly, and found himself walking in right as Griselda was taking her hair down.
The only thing that flew through Tobias's mind was how beautiful she was and how he hadn't noticed before because of her fighting facade. Embarrassment and nervousness forced him to turn around and stiffly wait outside. He was rewarded soon after with a gruff shove on the shoulder by the angel that was moments ago in front of him. He hadn't even noticed her grab her own bag.
"Move it. I don't care what you do, but after eye and earshot of the town, you gotta get the hell out of my way, okay? So let's go." She had already started walking towards the woods. Griselda. Why was she so mean? How could someone so beautiful be so heartless?
Griselda took one step into the woods and instantly felt better. She breathed in the earthly smells and her face fell into a smile as she sighed. She hadn't even noticed she had stopped, until her peacefulness was shattered by Tobias.
"What has you so happy all of a sudden?"
"Who said you could talk to me?" she snapped as she turned and glowered at him. "Look, I certainly don't need a babysitter, nor am I going to have some punk following me around like a lost puppy. I have been stuck in that Arceus damn town for so long, it was driving me up the wall," the Blaziken slowly walked up behind them and peaked once more from behind his trainer.
"You can follow me to the nearest town, but then you need to go." Her voice was calmer now, and she returned back to her bubble. Though she turned without a word, and continued walking, Blaziken in step.
"Sorry, Griselda, . . ." Tobias mumbled sullenly, head down.
She stopped. Turning her head slightly in a menacing way, she said simply, "Don't call me that," and that had all the threat she needed.
"Well, what do you want me to call you then?" Tobias asked, genuinely confused. Griselda just kept walking on without a response. "Gri-" he stopped himself, "selda?" No response.
It wasn't long that they had been walking before a small Poochyena appeared and started tugging at Tobias's pants' leg.
"No! Stop!" he yelled at it, trying to kick the pup off of his foot. Griselda turned to watch this embarrassment and rolled her eyes. Crossing her arms, she said, "Come on Blaziken, Double Kick." The impatience dripped off of her words. Blaziken took no time in replying, swiftly hitting the Poochyena hard in its ribs. The small dog rolled over itself and quickly left the scene, whimpering the entire way. Griselda just watched with disdain as it ran off, furring her brow and storming off ahead.
"Th-thank you," Tobias stuttered, dusting himself off and hurrying to catch up with her. Falling into stride with her, he asked,
"So, where are we going?" he asked cheerily. Griselda shot him a glare and Blaziken shook his head. Griselda heaved a heavy sigh before saying,
"You're not going to leave me alone are you?"
Tobias's face flushed a bright red and immediately he looked down at his feet.
"Well, I don't know where I'm going. I don't know anyone. Zero survival skills, . . ." his voice trailed away.
Griselda was quiet for a while, pondering on if she should humor the boy. Oldale Town was in the distance and she knew she could leave him there without any trouble. She didn't need anyone with her besides Blaziken and any other Pokèmon she may happen to catch along the way.
"I'm going to Lilycove. I don't care where you go." She decided it didn't matter.
"Lilycove? You like the city?"
There was no stopping this kid. Griselda stopped dead and turned to look at him. This was going to be a very long day.
Taiyou.
Miranda sat on the shores of Nerius beach. She wasn't in a swim suit, but she still let the watch rise up to her feet. The beach was mostly empty today. It was late April and still fairly cold to the point that people and Pokèmon typically avoided it. She simply looked out despondently at the sea. An Absol sat beside her with a somber expression as well.
A skittish looking boy walked up behind her, trying not to disturb her. The Absol heard and lazily turned its head to inspect the visitor.
"Miranda, ma'am. We have a problem," he said awkwardly, shuffling his feet in the sand. Miranda turned towards him and sighed. The sun was going down, but it still caught her in the eyes and she tried to block it with her hand.
"What is it, Leland?" Her humdrum tone matched her expression and portrayed her immense disinterest in what the boy was about to say.
He avoided direct eye contact completely, staring back at the Gym in the distance.
"Well, ma'am. Kingston and Margot. They were defeated by um. Well. A Hypno."
Absol snorted and turned back around to face the ocean. He was done with the conversation. Miranda, however, had a hearty laugh before replying,
"Nice one Leland, now seriously. What's wrong?"
"No, ma'am. I'm very serious," he looked her in the eyes. "You need to come see. Now."
As they walked back to the Gym, a battle could be seen off to the side. There was copious yells and the intense sounds of Pokemon raging. An exhausted Crawdaunt could be seen darting around a makeshift field chasing a yellow smudge. His right claw was glowing black as he slung it around furiously. The smudge of yellow turned out to be a Hypno teleporting around the sorry crawfish, in and out of danger. Making multiple copies of itself and having them all swing their pendulums; eyes closed. The flustered Crawdaunt became desperate, firing bubbles at everything that even moved. All but one Hypno dissipated; the remaining opening his glowing blue eyes. They began to radiate a faint purple as he was lifted off the ground. The Crawdaunt stopped, overcome with awe as he was thrown back, unconscious, by a psychic blast from the Hypno. The Crawdaunt's trainer cried out exasperatedly as he ran up to his injured Pokemon, shooting daggers at his former opponent.
The Hypno returned to the ground, kneeling and panting as his trainer approached his adversary.
"Where is the leader? I refuse to leave until I have this Gym's badge." He wasn't very tall, nor did he look very menacing with his arms crossed.
"And just who are you?" Miranda said, stepping on the field with Absol and Leland in step. The authority in her voice shook even her two apprentices. Leland exchanged worried glances with his friend, whispering, "C'mon, Ralph, let's GO," before the two of them scurried off back inside the Gym, which appeared to be a classy hotel.
"I'm Otto and I'm not leaving until I see the Gym Leader. I came here for a badge and I'm not leaving without one. Where is he?" The boy's cocky attitude humored Miranda, and she smirked, deciding this would be enjoyable.
"Well you see, Otto," she started, chuckling. "You're looking at her."
Hoenn.
Night had fallen. Griselda, Tobias, and Blaziken were around a small fire in the middle of a clearing. They had went through Oldale without much trouble. Another small forest had been waiting for them and they had decided to stop for the night, Tobias refusing to leave Griselda on her own.
"So why did you want to leave town so bad?" Tobias asked curiously, watching his own Lombre down by the river. He was swimming; carelessly playing with other water Pokemon that were awake at this time of night.
Griselda lied on the ground, staring up at the stars. Her anger from earlier that day had subsided, but she didn't seem any happier than she was before. She took her time in answering the boy, trying not to become angry again.
"Haven't you ever heard of Cabin Fever?" she snapped. A quick glance told her that she had come off too harsh, and she uttered a quick, "Sorry," before continuing on. Tobias looked over at her, touched.
"When I was younger, my Dad traveled a lot. Always researching different Pokemon and their behavior. I was never really into any of that, but I liked the carefree spirit we had." She stopped, but didn't move or shift at all. Just stared up aimlessly at the sky. Blaziken's head snapped around and immediately became still. Neither Tobias nor Griselda noticed, nor paid any mind when he stood up and walked out of the clearing.
"So you didn't have a stable home?" Tobias probed, hoping to ease more information out of his mystery.
"No, we did. We lived in Lilycove. We just traveled a lot. I remember when I was ten and everyone was getting their first Pokemon." She chuckled slightly to herself before continuing, "My friend got hers and that day said she wanted to become a Gym Leader one day. Big dreams, huh?"
Her expression fell and upon hearing her sigh, Tobias detected the change in her. Cautiously, he asked,
"What was her first Pokemon?"
Griselda was still for a while, and Tobias had thought he had offended her in some way again. He was about to apologize until he heard her exhale, and she sat up.
"Poochyena. She had a Poochyena."
A snap and some rustling could be heard from the direction that Blaziken had went before, sending Griselda back to her normal self.
"What was that?" she asked, her threatening edge returned. "Where's Blaziken?"
Simultaneously they stood up, looking around and walking towards the direction of the noise. Suddenly there was a loud crack followed by a shrill cry. Balls of blazing twigs and other debris came flying out at them, causing them both to fall back. Eyes wide, Tobias said,
"I think I know where Blaziken is!" He attempted a feeble smile.
"No shit. Shut up." Griselda sneered at the boy, forcing him to retreat back. He called out for his Lombre as she stood back up to proceed towards the origin of the flames. No sooner did she take a step forward did a small brown crocodile emerge from some bushes, sending leaves flying everywhere.
"A Sandile?" Griselda exclaimed, "In a forest?"
"A Sandile?" Tobias echoed. The look he received from her was enough to make him keep quiet and back off.
"He doesn't like ground types," she muttered, motioning to stop her fired up companion. "This should be nothing for him though."
"No wait!" Tobias interrupted, stepping between Griselda and Blaziken. "I got it."
His voice was shaky, but he faced the hissing Sandile with intent. It took no time in charging straight at the Lombre, clamping it's jaw tight on his arm. He let out a shriek and began to flail around; running with the Sandile still on his arm.
"No, Lombre, Fury Swipes!"
With his free hand, the Lombre haphazardly attacked his aggressor, carelessly scratching away at him. With enough of that, the Sandile let go, burrowing underground. Tobias and Lombre circled around each other and the clearing itself, but Sandile didn't reappear. Griselda attempted to stifle a chuckle, but failed. Tobias faced her, his disappointment obvious on his face. Lombre followed, rubbing his arm as Tobias said,
"I'm not really a great trainer." His voice trailed off forlorn and Griselda raised an eyebrow before chuckling once more. She noticed at once, but did not have time to warn Tobias of the Sandile that emerged from underneath the Lombre and nipping it on the backside.
Spinning around, Tobias and Lombre were completely shocked at the Sandile's audacity.
"Don't just take that, Lombre! Use Bubblebeam!"
The Lombre jumped back a bit and immediately sent a pathetic stream of bubbles at the crocodile. Griselda snorted and turned around to walk the other way as the Sandile sneezed and spat, not having enjoyed the spray.
"Great! Use that edge to distract him even more with Mist!"
Tobias walked backwards, giving room for the two Pokemon plus the growing mist that was being emitted from Lombre's head. The Sandile began shuffling around, unsure of where to go. It began slinging sand and dirt in a sporadic way, only clouding up the already thick mist.
Griselda watched the battle from the edge of the forest. Her and Blaziken both seemed intrigued by it, however Griselda was only amused. The Sandile began squealing; its frustration apparent. The area where Lombre was in glowed a heavy green, and a thump followed. After the green died down, the Sandile kicked up sand once more, only this time, the ferocity of it sent forest debris and dirt everywhere. The violent sandstorm tore through the mist, wreaking havoc on the Lombre.
"Agh, Lombre, no!" Tobias attempted to cover his eyes with his arm and still see what was going on, but to no avail. "Rain Dance!"
Lombre, completely ignoring the sandstorm, began to move in such an atrocious manner that Griselda couldn't help but to laugh, and Blaziken turned away shaking his head. It began raining, however, it formed something much like a hurricane with the sandstorm. Griselda heard another cry, only this time it was from Tobias.
"How embarrassing," she muttered to Blaziken.
"Hydro Pump now, Lombre!" Tobias shouted over the wind. He could just barely make out his Lombre and its surge of water slapping the Sandile into the ground. Tobias gasped, and scrambled around his bag for a Poke Ball, which he threw at the Sandile. The weather stopped. All that was left was a light drizzle.