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Our story begins on a battlefield…
An extremely worn out battlefield.
The stone stadium was surrounded by hundreds of filled seats, all watching the latest challenge against Cynthia: the Pokémon League Champion of the Sinnoh region. On the right end of the field, a Pidgeot; on the left end, Cynthia's famed Garchomp. The excited patrons were on the edge of their seats as the six—on—six battle came to a close.
"As the last Pokémon on his roster, Martin sends out Pidgeot! Just like him, Cynthia is surprisingly on her last also and sends out her powerhouse, Garchomp!" the announcer yells.
If at all possible, the cheers from the crowd grow even louder as Cynthia's land shark Pokémon roars sharply while the remaining of the red energy beam from his Poké Ball disappears. Martin determined to end this see—saw battle, orders Pidgeot to use Steel Wing. Pidgeot's wings glow white as it rockets down towards Garchomp, glad to follow its trainer's instructions.
"Garchomp, get in the air and counter that Steel Wing with Dragon Claw," Cynthia said calmly. The blue land shark jumped into the air and shot towards the hawk like Pokémon, looking very similar to a jet plane during flight. Garchomp extended his right arm, the claw glowed a greenish—white, towards Pidgeot. The two Pokémon clashed; a slight explosion erupted causing a cloud of smoke…
The smoked cleared and the sea of people stood from their seats to catch a glimpse of the results…
There Pidgeot lay severely weakened by the single dragon—type attack. Slowly, the bird pushed itself up, but as soon as Pidgeot managed up to its feet, it crashed to the ground exhausted.
"Unsurprisingly, the winner once again is Cynthia! Though the battle was truly nerve—wracking, the champ came out on top again!" The announcer's voice could barely be heard after the first sentence over the thunderous cheering.
Down on the field, the trainer Martin though discouraged, walked towards Pidgeot and petted its soft feathers. "Thanks for trying, Pidgeot; no one can beat Cynthia's Garchomp." The Pokémon cooed weakly, leaning into its trainer's hand. Cynthia walked up to Martin, offering a hand shake. "That was the most challenging battle I've had in a long time. That Steel Wing was quite impressive."
Garchomp grunted softly down at Pidgeot. "Garchomp / It truly was." Pidgeot replied with a weak 'Thank you'.
"Thanks, Cynthia. No hard feelings." Martin gave a small smile and shook her hand before waving to the audience. He recalled Pidgeot back to its Poké Ball, nodded to Cynthia and Garchomp and walked out of the arena.
"Yes! Now that was a battle! But no one can beat Cynthia!" Twin cheers erupted from a bedroom in a two floor house. Both voices were obviously distinctive; one from a boy and the other from a girl.
The boy had chocolate brown hair that almost covered his also brown eyes. He brushed his hair away from his eyes; his light brown skin glowed from the light of the television. "That was extremely close… I can't believe she almost lost." The boy settled down into the sleeping bag he had brought from home, putting his hands behind his head.
"Tell me about it. That Martin guy was strong. But we'll be stronger, so Cynthia and all the Gym Leaders better watch out," said the girl. The girl brushed a purple strand of hair back into its short and spiky black ponytail, the original color, away from her oddly purple colored eyes. The girl's skin was more a chocolate brown, which didn't glow at all from the light. She turned the television off as she relaxed into her bed. "Can you believe that tomorrow morning we'll be on our way to Sandgem Town to get our Pokémon?"
The boy sighed softly. "Nope… Are you still taking Chimchar with you?"
"Of course; what about you, still pickin' Turtwig?" she asked sleepily.
"You know it," he yawed. "It's midnight. We'd better go to sleep before we're late. Night, Kieran." The boy rolled onto his side, already asleep.
"Night, Markus..," Kieran dozed.
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In another bedroom, a fair skinned girl with blue hair was dreaming about becoming a famous Pokémon coordinator. The hours passed quickly when her Piplup shaped clock rung its alarm.
"Dawn! Dawn, it's 8:00! You're going to be late!"
The newly named Dawn jumped out of her bed, running to the bathroom. Trying to waste very little time as possible, she ran out of the bathroom ten minutes later and across the hall to her room. She quickly rushed out of her room, fully dressed in a black mini dress with white fringe, pink boots and a pink scarf. Dawn raced downstairs, brushing her hair down so she could put on her white hat — going straight for the door.
"Hold it, young lady. Don't think you're leaving without having breakfast."
Dawn turned around to look at her mother Joanna, who was practically her twin.
"But mom, you just said I was going to be…" Dawn's eyes drifted over to the clock on the shelf over the fireplace. "7:00… You set my clock forward," she sighed in relief.
"That's right. I had a feeling you would sleep in, now come eat."
On the table were two plates of pancakes, a bowl of mixed fruit and a jug of cold milk. Dawn quickly ate her breakfast and jumped up, taking her dirty dishes to the kitchen sink.
Running to the front door once again, she reached out for a suitcase that she left out the night before. "Dawn? Where do you think you're going with such a big suitcase?" Joanna inquired. "This is everything I'm taking with me," she answered confused. Joanna chuckled softly and walked to the closet by the stairs, taking out a yellow backpack.
"As a Pokémon trainer or coordinator, you need to learn how to travel light. Pack all of your necessities in here." Dawn made a slight face at the small bag, but did as she was told. "Just one more thing…" Joanna held out a purple case, opening it. Inside was a contest ribbon. The sunlight glittered off the gold centerpiece and made the light purple ribbon look even brighter.
Dawn gasped softly and took the small ribbon from the case.
"My first contest ribbon. I want you to have it as a sign of good luck."
Dawn held the ribbon carefully in her hand. "Mom… Are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. Now go and have fun!"
Dawn grinned up at her mother, hugging her tightly. "I will!" She raced out the door to her bike that was resting by the stairs. She waved to her mother one last time from the bike and jumped on, pedaling as fast as she could.
Joanna's happiness for her daughter was short—lived though when her partner, Glameow, brought her what looked like a postcard. "Glameow," came the muffled voice of the Pokémon.
"Oh, Dawn… I hope she doesn't get too lost, Glameow…"
The cat Pokémon jumped onto the couch and meowed softly, worried for her trainer's daughter.
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"Markus…! Markus, come on!" shouted Kieran as she raced through Sandgem Town. Kieran's dark hair cut through the wind while she rode her bike, her amethyst eyes glittered with excitement.
The rookie trainer was sporting a white choker with an orange crescent moon — a birthday present from Markus. She was dressed in a purple mid-sleeve, high collared shirt; on the chest was a wide, charcoal band and on each side of the shirt was a stripe of the same color. Under that was a light grey long sleeved turtlenecked shirt. She wore purple finger less gloves and blue cutoff shorts with baggy pockets. For her shoes, Kieran was wearing a pair of grey boots with purple shoe laces. Snugly on her head, Kieran was wearing a purple beanie with a charcoal colored Poké Ball in the middle. Finally, her backpack which was all sky blue, except for the Poké Ball in the center.
On the other hand, Markus was simpler with his clothes. He wore a grey long—sleeved shirt, over which he wore a white polo. The jacket he was wearing was black, but the collar and hem were blue. Markus as well, was wearing a pair of fingerless gloves — white. He was sporting a pair of baggy, grey pants and his boots were designed like Kieran's, but corresponding with hers, were black, blue and grey.
The two aspiring Pokémon trainers had awoken fifteen minutes after seven but still managed to get showered, dressed and have a filling breakfast before flying off on their bikes. Markus managed to keep up with his best friend, but he was always the calmer of the two. Kieran was the fire, he was the water. He laughed at his friend's excitement, chasing after her on his bike.
Kieran eventually slowed down when they came across a rather nervous looking blue-haired girl.
"Oh no, oh no! Where is it? Did I leave the postcard at home?!"
Kieran cast a worried look at Markus, and then back at the girl. "She must be on her way to Professor Rowan's lab," he surmised. The friends watched as the blue haired girl dug through her backpack.
"Let's help her. I memorized the map on the back of his postcard!" Kieran bounded her way towards the girl. "Hey, you're looking for Professor Rowan's lab, right? We're going there ourselves," she said kindly.
The frazzled girl looked up at her and nodded. "I left the postcard that had the map on it at home… I'm Dawn, by the way."
"I'm Kieran and the guy behind me is my best friend Markus." Markus walked up next to Kieran, holding up his bike. "Nice to meet you, Dawn," he smiled.
Dawn looked at Markus for a few seconds before diverting her eyes to the ground, blushing. "Nice to meet you too, Markus…" Kieran snickered discreetly and took hold of Dawn's bike, leading the two to Professor Rowan's lab.
"So, do you know which of the three you're going to pick, Dawn?" Markus asked. Her cheeks reddened once more, as she stumbled through her answer. "I'm not really sure but I was leaning towards Piplup," she finished thoughtfully, "Chimchar is definitely as battler's Pokémon and so is Turtwig." Markus nodded considerably. The walk was finished in companionable silence until they walked up to a two story brown building.
"Hey, this is it!" Kieran marched through the door. "We're here, for our Pokémon!" called Dawn.
"Then you've come to the right place, kids!" said a confused chef, taking an order from behind a wooden counter. The patrons of the restaurant stared at the three teens in puzzlement.
"Uh… hehe… Oops?" said Kieran, smiling sheepishly. Markus groaned, slapping his forehead. He took Kieran's arm and pulled her back out the door.
"You really know your way around, huh?" Dawn asked sarcastically.
Kieran rubbed the back of her head, "Hehe, so I lead us to the wrong building… I was only joking. It's this one over here!" She pointed to another building, across the street and three down from the restaurant. Again, it was the wrong one and was instead, a library.
For the next thirty minutes, the three went from building to building, looking for Rowan's Pokémon lab. Dawn was about ready to give up searching when she bumps into a tall man with white hair and a beard and mustache, carrying a suitcase. "You're looking lost…," a gruff voice came from behind his mustache.
"Who? Me?" Dawn asked.
"Yes, you're the only one standing here,' he answered.
"Hey, Dawn! Did you find—," started Markus. He looked up at the man and his eyes widened. "You're Professor Rowan." Dawn's eyes grew. Markus began to look around for Kieran, when she finally showed up on her own, looking upset.
"Still can't find the lab…," she complained.
"Don't worry," said Markus. "This is Professor Rowan."
Kieran looked up at the Professor with a sheepish grin. "Sorry we had to bump into each other like this, Prof."
"Y'see, we had trouble finding your lab, sir," Markus explained.
The Professor nodded. "Then if my guess is correct, you three must be Markus, Dawn and Kieran. Come with me. I was just on my way there now."
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While the four were on their way to the laboratory, the Professor's three assistants were preparing for the new trainers. One of the three was pushing the starting Pokémon on a cart to lobby of the lab.
One was an orange-red chimp; it had a cowlick on the top of its head that looked like a flame, a cream face, chest, hands, feet and ears, and it also had a short tail made of fire. This Pokémon was the Fire-type Chimchar.
The one next to it was the Grass-type, Turtwig. It had a green face and legs, a yellow lower jaw and feet, and a turtle shell that was made out of soil and finally, a brown twig that was on top of its head with two healthy green leaves growing out of it.
Finally, the Water-type called Piplup. It was a little penguin that was blue all around except for its yellow beak and feet and the big white spots over its eyes and the little white ones on its chest as buttons that held up a blue cape.
Another of Rowan's assistants pushed in two more Pokémon: a tiny brown bird that had a white face, an orange beak with a brown tip and orange feet. The feathers on its head were a chocolate color while the rest of its body was a light brown, except for the white dot on its chest and the tips of its wings which were the same chocolate brown as its head. Its tail feathers on the right and left sides were the same color as its head while the one in this middle was white; a Starly.
The other was its final stage of evolution, a Staraptor. It was about three times Starly's size and had the same color scheme. The only difference was that Staraptor had a tuft of feathers that were combed out of its head and were tipped red, under that, on its forehead was a white dot. Staraptor's shoulders were chocolate brown as were the tips of its tail feathers.
"I remember the first Pokémon I ever caught was Starly," reminisced an assistant.
"Oh yeah, mine was a Bidoof," said another.
"I caught a Shinx my first time," said the third, as he gave bowls of food to the five Pokémon.
The Chimchar quickly ate his food but before long, his stomach was growling. He looked at the three assistants before quickly snatching a handful of Piplup's food out of his bowl. He tossed the food in his mouth and gave Piplup a teasing grin. The blue penguin glared at Chimchar. "Piplup, Pip, Pip, Lup/Hey, you already ate yours!"
"Chim, Char, Chimchar, Chim/So what, I'm still hungry!" Chimchar seized another handful of the food and stuffed it in his mouth.
As a result, Piplup fired a barrage of blue, glittery bubbles towards the fire chimp, to which he swiftly dodged. The stream of bubbles crashed into a table of computer monitors, which sizzled with electricity as the water met the wires.
"Piplup!" shouted an assistant. "What's wrong with you?"
The chimp landed on the table holding Starly and Staraptor, grinning cheekily. Again, Piplup shot another beam of bubbles towards him. Chimchar jumped into the air easily, making the bubbles hit the flying Pokémon.
Angry at the disturbance, the two flew up, flapping their wings harshly. The rough flow of wind picked up important papers, pushed machines and everything moveable.
"Starly, Staraptor! What's that Whirlwind for?"
Chimchar landed on a metal beam towards the ceiling in front of huge window. "Chimchar, Chim, Char/Your aim sucks!" he taunted. Piplup's eye twitched as he let loose another onslaught of bubbles. Chimchar move in and out of the bubbles and the spheres of water collided with the window, shattering the glass completely.
The chimp leaped towards the window and when he landed, he stuck his tongue out and pulled down his lower eyelid. "Chimchar, Chim, Chim, Char/Catch me if you can, loser!" he jeered as he dropped from the window sill. The penguin trailed after him, letting loose more bubbles. Noticing the open window, the Starly and Staraptor flew out the window.
"Chimchar, Piplup, no!" exclaimed an assistant as another yelled, "Starly and Staraptor, get back here!"
Strangely enough, while all this was happening, the quiet Turtwig was calmly finishing his food. He noticed that Piplup's food was still untouched so he secretly switched the bowls with his head and sat back down, eating that as well.
Suddenly, the automatic doors opened and entered Professor Rowan, Kieran, Dawn and Markus.
"Aah! They're here!" yelled the assistants in unison.
Professor Rowan looked around the destroyed lab and raised his eyebrow.
"Whoa… What happened here?" asked Kieran.
"That's exactly what I would like to know," the Professor commented.
The trio of assistants hastily explained what happened. "And now, they've ran out towards the woods and we have no idea where they went."
"Hm. Yes, now I need some help cleaning up this mess," he said.
"I'll help you clean up here, sir," volunteered Markus.
"Yeah! And Kieran and I can go get Piplup and Chimchar!" offered Dawn.
"Excellent idea, Dawn. Now you two run along before they get too far," dismissed Professor Rowan.
Kieran and Dawn ran back out the door and made their way to the woods.
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"Piplup!" called Dawn.
"Chimchar!" yelled Kieran, and then she sighed. "This is never gonna work… We're gonna have to split up if we want to find them."
Dawn looked around the forest nervously. "If you're sure…," she hesitated.
"Just incase you get lost, make some type of landmarks so you can find your way back out," she suggested. The aspiring coordinator nodded more confidently and picked a flat path while Kieran kept walking straight ahead.
The search kept on until Dawn came across Piplup leaning against a tree, breathing heavily. "So you've tired yourself out, huh?" asked Dawn.
Piplup glared up at the girl before turning away and sticking his beak up in the air. "You don't have to be so rude, y'know," she said. Piplup didn't look at her. Sighing, Dawn sat down on next to him, looking up at the Wurmple and Seedot in the trees.
Then Piplup's stomach growled.
"Someone sounds hungry…," sang Dawn. She pulled off her backpack and dug into it, pulling out a box of cookies. She took one out and offered it to him. "Here ya go." He eyed the cookie and his stomach growled again, but Piplup turned away anyway. "What? What's wrong with my cookie?" Piplup huffed, stood up and walked away.
"Hey!" Dawn jumped up and followed the blue penguin. Piplup ignored her and kept marching until he came across an Oran berry bush.
The bush was only a little ways higher than he was. Piplup tried to reach the lowest hanging berry with his short wing. Stretching his wing as far as he could, Piplup could barely touch the hard skin of the berry. He huffed and jumped, slapping the fruit off the branch. He was just about to pick it up when it was suddenly pulled away from him by a rope of white web.
"Ari… ari, Ariados…/Aw… are you hungry?" hissed the Ariados.
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Just as Dawn found Piplup, Kieran was still looking for the wayward Chimchar. She drew another 'x' on the dirt floor with a stick she had found earlier on her walk so she could find her way back.
Kieran watched as two Furret climbed up a tree, burrowing into a den they created. As she continued to walk, two Nincada crossed her path.
This was one of the reasons why she wanted to be a trainer. To see Pokémon in their natural habitat. Since the playpen, Kieran had always been amazed by them. How some of the smallest Pokémon packed the most powerful punch while some of the strongest and biggest were the most nature conscious. The tiny titans and gentle giants.
She drew another 'x'. "Chimchar!" she called.
Kieran kept walking until the sudden sound of growling filled the forest. A Bidoof ran across the forest floor. At first, she ignored it but the growling grew closer. Through the brush of the wood came three — quite angry — Mightyena. She stepped back and looked around the forest. 'They must be the reason why all of those Pokémon were running away and hiding. A pack of territorial bullies.' The one in the middle — the biggest — inched closer to her, his teeth bared. He opened its mouth and formed a black, ghostly orb. The ball grew twice in size and the dark type shot the ball towards Kieran. The two Mightyena flanking it did the same.
'Damn it, Shadow Ball.'
Not wasting any time, Kieran spun around and ran as fast as she could from the pack. Unfortunately, she came to a wall of trees. Kieran could hear the Mightyena barking, narrowing in on her. She didn't dare go any deeper in the forest, fearing that she would get even more lost than she already was; straying away from her landmarked path. The barking got louder. Following it, the trio of the Mightyena emerged from the trees once more and surrounded her, lessening her ways of escape.
The pack leader formed another Shadow Ball, this one even bigger; his subordinates following after. They released the black sphere from their mouths and aimed them towards Kieran. She looked for some way to deflected them when it started to rain red, hot flecks of cinder. 'That's Ember. And a powerful one at that…' The ember collided with the orbs, creating three mini smoke bombs, blocking the Mightyena from their target. Kieran looked up to the trees and saw a Chimchar. 'It's the one from Professor Rowan's lab. It's gotta be.'
The trio of Mightyena crouched down — the hairs on their backs standing up — glaring at the source of the attack.
It was indeed the Chimchar from Professor Rowan's lab. He gave the pack a fierce look, refusing to back down. "Chimchar, Chim, Chimchar, Chim, Char/You three better back off before I really kick your butts!"
The leader gave Chimchar a ferocious grin. "Mighty, Mightyena, Might…/You could try, punk…," he snarled.
Chimchar took the challenge; he opened his mouth and inhaled, his cheeks filled with the hot air in his body. He exhaled and like a machine gun, he blasted the pack with burning hot pieces of ember. The pack was quickly pelted with the pieces of coal, singeing their fur. The leader aimed another Shadow Ball towards the chimp, who easily dodged the ghost type attack by flipping to another tree branch.
Chimchar gave the leader a defiant stare and jumped down from the branch, formed himself into a ball as he blew a stream of fire around his body. The fierce wheel of flames closed in on the pack, knocking them over like a set of bowling pins.
The alpha Mightyena tried to stand up, but only on three paws; his front right paw was injured.
Kieran felt something patting her boot and looked down to see Chimchar pointing towards the direction she came in. She looked back at the injured Pokémon, and then looked down at Chimchar. "I wanna help him."
The fire type looked up at her with wide eyes. This trainer wanted to help an injured Pokémon? Now Chimchar had never had the best example of a trainer. Before he was caught to be a starter Pokémon, Chimchar would sometimes see trainers abandon Pokémon because they were too weak or just didn't like them. So he didn't exactly trust humans.
Kieran walked apprehensively to the wounded Mightyena. The alpha and his subordinates growled lowly as she came closer. Kieran kneeled and took off her backpack. "I don't wanna hurt you… I just want to fix your paw," she said softly. She didn't do anything else until the alpha eventually stopped growling. He kept his eyes on her as she went through her backpack and pulled out a roll of bandages.
She picked up his paw tenderly, wincing as he whined. She ripped off a length of about ten inches and wrapped it around his paw gently. "There. All fixed," she sighed. The Mightyena sat up and licked her cheek before limping off with his pack.
Chimchar looked up at Kieran. He might have found the first human he could trust.
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Piplup glared up at the thief. "Pip, Piplup, Lup/Give that back, jerk."
The spider Pokémon hissed out a sneering laugh. "Ariados/Make me." To prove his point, the Ariados used String Shot and wrapped Piplup in a sticky rope of web. Piplup wiggled around, but no avail, he couldn't escape. The Ariados climbed down from the tree he was hanging from, pulled Piplup into his web and left him there, laughing.
Piplup continued to struggle. He let out a muffled cry for help when he heard a familiar voice.
"Piplup! Oh!"
Dawn had followed him. She climbed up the web and tugged at the stiff ropes of web. Piplup could finally move freely when she kept at it, though. Unforturnately, the Ariados came back earlier than Piplup thought. Angry at the trainer for messing with his victim, the Ariados let loose a storm of purple needles, Poison Sting.
The two quickly jumped down from the web when suddenly three more Ariados emerged from the trees. Following after the first, they too, used Poison Sting.
Dawn gasped softly and was about to pick up Piplup and run when she saw him bracing himself. The original set of needles hit him first and he started to glow white. When the rest of the needles struck him, Piplup glowed even brighter, so bright to the point where Dawn had to cover her eyes.
Piplup took every blow until it was finally enough and the entire surrounding area glowing an intense white. The four Ariados were blown away by the sheer power of the light and scattered around the trees.
"That was amazing… What move was that?" Dawn whispered.
Piplup gasped as he relaxed from the embracement. He fainted on the ground, exhausted from executing the powerful move. Dawn quickly scooped him up and ran through the woods, hoping to find some way to wake up him.
She came across Lake Verity, and kneeled at the edge of the pool of water. Dawn dipped her hand in the water and splashed the penguin's face, attempting to make him come around.
All of a sudden, a rustling came from over her head. Dawn looked up and saw a vaporous shadow. She narrowed her eyes, to figure out whether it was a Pokémon, but the silhouette quickly faded away. Worried she was just seeing things, Dawn promised to herself that she would only say anything when she learned more about it.
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The two rookies met back at the edge of the woods.
Chimchar was hanging on to Kieran's neck, his feet on the top of her backpack while Dawn was holding Piplup to her chest by his waist.
As soon as the two saw each other, they launched into their respective stories and they gasped and grinned at all of the right parts. Kieran explained that the move Piplup used was called Bide, a useful move that absorbs other attacks and sends them back at double the power.
Dawn and Kieran entered the Pokémon Lab for a second time. The lab wasn't in perfect condition, but it looked a lot better than when they first came.
Chimchar and Piplup looked shamefaced as they looked around at the damage they caused for being childish. Hearing them come in, Professor Rowan emerged from his office. He gave the two starter Pokémon a stern look and the two looked down at the floor guiltily. "Aw, don't be too hard on them, Prof, they're sorry. Right?" said Kieran.
The Pokémon went into their own separate apologies in their own language, but the Professor understood them from the tone of their voices. "Alright, alright. From your attitude, Kieran, does this mean that you've picked Chimchar as your partner?"
"You know it!" she grinned. "And I already know what I'm gonna name him!"
Dawn looked at her puzzled. "What do you mean by 'name'?"
"I wanna to name them to be able to set apart my Pokémon from the others," she explained.
Professor Rowan nodded. "There has been some study that if a trainer names their Pokémon, they have become closer…," he shook his head, "But that's for a different time. Dawn, I trust that Piplup is your choice?" Dawn nodded eagerly. "Good. Now if you two will follow me, Markus is waiting in the other room with Turtwig."
There was Markus standing in front of the cart that Turtwig was still sitting on, laughing as the grass type bit his hand playfully. He turned around and grinned. "Took you guys long enough," he said.
One of the Professor's assistants rolled in yet another cart but this time only had a box full of Poké Balls; three that on the cart by themselves — Piplup's, Chimchar's, and Turtwig's — and three PokéDexes; one was red and two were pink.
Professor Rowan picked up three Poké Balls and gave them to their respective trainer. Markus and Dawn recalled Turtwig and Piplup back to their Poké Balls. But when Chimchar saw the capsule, he shook his head. "You don't like to be in that Poké Ball, do you?" Kieran asked. The chimp shook his head again. "No problem! I think it's cool to be able to have my starter Pokémon out with me all the time," Kieran gave the Poké Ball back to Professor Rowan, "I guess I won't need to hold on to this then," she gave the Poké Ball back, but gave a worried look. "He'll be okay, though, right? I mean, this Poké Ball will still be his?"
"Yes, yes, just because you don't have the Poké Ball, does not mean he isn't captured. This, actually, is relevant to what I want to explain now." With the help of an assistant, he passed out nine Poké Balls to Dawn and Markus, and ten to Kieran. "No need for questions… In Sinnoh, trainers are able to hold up to ten Pokémon in their team roster. While the battle rules are still in effect — meaning six-on-six is still considered a full battle — having an extra four gives you more variety for your PokéDex and more of a challenge in training. Now let it be known that if you are in an official Pokémon League battle, you must let the officials know which Pokémon you want to use before hand because the League rules still do apply; for instance, if one were to go into a three-on-three match against an Elite Four member and brought four Pokémon, this would be considered cheating," explained the Professor.
"So what you're saying is that if I scheduled a gym battle, I would have to tell the gym leader my choices?" Markus asked, concerned.
"You wouldn't tell the gym leader specifically, more like you would just enter them, much like how the Battle Frontier is set up in Kanto," Rowan answered. "Now, Kieran. Since Chimchar does not find his Poké Ball appealing, this technically gives you an open space on your roster, seeing as you will not be carrying his Poké Ball with you. Does training eleven Pokémon seem too stressful for you, or are you willing to take the challenge?" He arched his eyebrow.
If Kieran could grin any wider, surely her face would have split. "Definitely!"
"I think you just made her day, sir," Markus smiled.
Rowan waved his hand to calm Kieran down and passed out the PokéDexes. "I expect you three know about the PokéDex?" While Markus and Kieran nodded, Dawn looked a little confused by the question. "I know what it is… but what exactly does it do?"
"The PokéDex is a high-tech tool that automatically makes a record of any Pokémon you meet or catch," he clarified. She nodded and the three put the devices in their bags. Prior to leaving, the Professor stopped them. "But before you go, indulge me Kieran, what are you going to name Chimchar?"
Kieran grinned again. "It didn't really take much thought when I saw what he could do and how much fire power this little guy has. I decided to name him Dante; a perfect name for a fiery and strong Pokémon." No one knew, but a warm feeling erupted throughout the newly named Dante.
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Meanwhile, the horn of a ship blew.
A boy of sixteen stood against the railing, watching with a grinning face as this ship pulled into the harbor of Sinnoh. He sported a red hat that had a black circle in the middle; inside the circle was half of a green Poké Ball. It covered up the top of his shaggy black hair while the rest stuck out. He wore a black t—shirt, over which he also wore a jacket that had a white hood, short dark blue sleeves and the chest of the jacket was sky blue. He was wearing a green backpack that had a red Poké Ball on the front, blue jeans and a pair of red, green and black sneakers. On his shoulder was his best friend and starter Pokémon, Pikachu.
The ship finally pulled into the harbor. He quickly ran down the dock to the closest video phone and dialed a familiar number.
"Ash!" The voice said. The picture followed after the voice. Professor Samuel Oak. "I'm guessing you made it to Sinnoh?"
"You bet! I can't wait to get—," Ash started, his hat was suddenly pulled off of his head by a purple monkey with a yellow hand on the end of its tail. "Aipom!" he smiled. "Did you follow me?"
Aipom danced with Ash's hat on her head as an answer. She climbed up his back and held on to his shoulder. Ash turned back to the smiling Professor on the screen. "I'm guessing you knew about this?"
"By the time I knew about her wanting to come with you, she had already snuck into her Poké Ball with the help of a certain mouse…," he gave a playfully stern glance at Pikachu.
Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Pika…/Sorry…"
Ash laughed. "No big deal. So where's this Professor Rowan you've been telling me about?"
"Ah yes. Professor Rowan is, obviously, the Professor of the Sinnoh region. He's a very good friend of mine. He told me just yesterday that he has your Sinnoh PokéDex all ready for you. It's not a far walk from where you are, actually; his lab is in Sandgem Town. I should tell you, though; there is a new feature in Sinnoh," said Professor Oak.
Ash tilted his head to the right. "What is it?"
But before the Professor could even get a word out, a giant red hand came out of nowhere and snatched Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder.
"Score one for the big guys, only one step into Sinnoh!" cheered another familiar voice.
"You mean to tell me that you guys followed me too?" asked an irritated Ash as he turned around to see two people. A blue haired man wearing a white suit that had a capital 'R' in the middle and black boots; a long, red haired woman that wore the same thing, but the shirt was cut to the midriff and she wore a skirt over the pants and black boots. The one in the middle — who was holding a hand crane that was attached to the red hand holding Pikachu — wasn't even a human, but a Pokémon, a grinning Meowth.
Team Rocket.
"Aw, is the twerp not happy to see us?" asked Jessie.
"I'm never happy to see you guys. Now give me back Pikachu," he said.
"No chance!" said the three at the same time. They quickly took off towards the trees across from the pier and Ash took off behind them with Aipom on his shoulder; Professor Oak calling him.
Unfortunately, Ash lost the trio in the trees. However, Aipom heard something above the trees, jumped off his shoulder and onto one closest to her.
"Aipom! Where ya goin'?" He followed after her, climbing up the tree without struggle.
At the top of the tree, the monkey pointed to the north, where not too far away was a hot air balloon shaped like a Meowth's head. Ash groaned when he saw Pikachu being held in a cage — yet again — by Meowth. The balloon hovered past the tree at about twenty feet and that's when Ash saw his chance.
"Alright, Aipom, pop that balloon with Swift!" he ordered. Aipom jumped into the air and swung her tail, a shower of gold, glittery stars hitting the balloon with perfect aim.
The balloon popped and the air rushing from the gaping hole forced it to fly away speedily, clearing the entire wood; way farther than Ash thought it would go.
Taking Pikachu with it.
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