Chapter One: New Beginnings

Amanda was woken up by the sound of her mother's voice that shouted,

"Amanda! Get out of bed! You don't want to be late to start your journey!"

She smiled to herself as she stretched in her bed. Yesterday was her 10th birthday and so she was allowed to start her journey as a Pokémon trainer. She jumped out of bed, slipped into her clothes, and went to the door. She looked back to admire her room one last time. It was cream colored and fitted with all the basic essentials; tables, potted plant, TV, computer, the occasional radio, and her fluffy bed that was covered in pokeball print. She tip-toed downstairs and seeing her mother engaged in deep conversation with family friend, Mrs. Matilda, decided to bolt out of the door without disturbing her.

Once outside, she took a minute to admire the calm, serene and beautiful environment of New Bark town. She jogged over to the Famous Elm Pokémon Lab; the crowning glory of the town. It wasn't too big, but yet all the would-be-trainers in Johto flocked there to begin their own Pokémon journeys. She used to look at them from her room window as they passed when she was younger, hoping, dreaming, about this day. Once she entered the building, she hurried to where Prof. Elm was. The aged man stopped typing on the computer and exclaimed to Amanda, surprised,

"Why, Amanda! You came so early!"

She smirked. She was trained by her parents to be very punctual.

"Well, you can't start until everyone is here."Prof. Elm said.

A bit too punctual, Amanda! She thought to herself as she frowned. While Prof. Elm was typing away, Amanda looked around to pass some time. She looked over at the table where she would meet her starter. She saw the three poke balls on the table, but noticed something different. Instead of the signs to signify, water, fire and grass, they stood for electricity, rock, and ice. She stared at the Professor, wondering, Whatever happened to the good ol' choice of water, fire and grass, Prof. Elm! She had been preparing all her life to choose a grass-type from the three, and all of her planning had gone down the drain. She was so angry that she didn't notice Lily, her childhood friend, walk in. What snapped her out of her thoughts was the sound of Lily's voice as she and the professor exchanged pleasantries. She sat down just as Prof. Elm showed them their Pokédexes. They were both little laptops with their own keyboards and navigation pads and everything else. They had two screens; one was bigger and was blank with no information, while the other had a list format with a few options here and there. Both girls squealed with excitement as they were given the little laptops. Lily was given a green one while Amanda was given a blue one. Next they were shown the table with poke balls on them. Amanda watched Lily's expression as she beheld the sudden change in plans. Lily calmly asked why, then Prof. Elm answered,

"This answer goes to both of you. I changed the arrangement of Starters because it'll allow for you trainers to make healthier decisions. I know both of you have been preparing for a long time to choose one of those three and hence, I changed the arrangement to allow for good use of your thinking and battle prowess. So, that said, come on, pick your partners."

Amanda and Lily looked at each other; each telling the other to choose first. Amanda finally fell through and picked up the pokeball with the lightning bolt on it. Lily stepped forward and chose the pokeball with the snowflake on it. Prof. Elm breathed a small sigh of relief before stating the following boringly like it was a rehearsed speech,

"Alright. You girls have chosen your starters. Treat them with love and care, be a good trainer, be nice to Pokémon…OH FORGET THAT! Hold the poke balls up to the Pokédexes' lens!"

The two girls were surprised at the sudden outburst and did as they were told. Once Amanda's Poke ball button connected with her Pokédex, there was a beep and she saw the screens light up. In the corner of the larger screen, was a Pikachu, sleeping in a simulated habitat; a clearing in grass with it resting in a circle of smoldering sand. She looked over at Lily's Pokédex as the girl squealed in delight. There, on a small simulated ice floe with snow around it, was a Seel! Both read their Pokédex entries for their Pokémon in succession; Amanda starting first, and Lily, going second;

No. 025 Pikachu, the electric Pokémon.

A small, electric mouse-like Pokémon. When it is angered, it immediately discharges the energy stored in its cheeks. It has the ability to change the positivity and negativity of itself and an object to allow it to deliver electric shocks accurately.

This Pikachu is currently at Lv. 10 and knows the moves; Thundershock, Quick attack, Growl.

No. 086 Seel, the sea lion Pokémon.

A Pokémon that looks like a white, sea lion. Its fur is water-proof and can camouflage it in its natural habitat. The protruding horn on its head is very hard. It is used for bashing through thick ice. It is an easily-trained Pokémon and can learn more than its fair share of both commands and moves.

This Seel is currently at Lv. 10 and knows the moves; Headbutt, Powder Snow, Tackle.

All that could come out of the girls' mouth's were, "WOW!" Prof. Elm posed big-headedly; clutching his collar, while lifting his head away at a strange angle. He simply declared,

"Now follow me." But first, he gave them their poke balls.

He led them into a training room that was heavily armored with metal. As he went out, the girls heard his voice through a loudspeaker somewhere.

"Alright girls, throw your poke balls. Be careful; once they release your Pokémon, they'll bounce back in the same way you threw them. You'll get the hang of it sooner or later." The voice blared metallically. Lily pressed the lock button and threw her poke ball, releasing her Seel. The Pokémon looked at her and for a fraction of a second, both of their eyes gleamed. Lily bent and was going to pet her Pokémon, but had forgotten about its ball. The ball whizzed dangerously over her head and hit the wall behind them with a loud clang. She stood up and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head while looking at a surprised Amanda. Prof. Elm's voice was heard again.

"Lily, you'll have enough time to bond a bit more with your Pokémon, but can you focus a bit more on the task at hand?" The embarrassed girl replied with a smallish voice,

"Sorry.''

Amanda had finished looking and readied herself. She threw the ball and watched it fly back to her. At the last second she realized she didn't throw it well and scooted to the right, grasping the pokeball before it flew out of her reach. Once done, she looked at her Pikachu. It was larger than average. Probably all the care in the lab, she supposed. A loud whir was heard, and two Pokémon dummies stood at the end of the room. For Amanda and Pikachu, a Magikarp dummy, and for Lily and Seel, a Geodude dummy. Amanda had watched tons of battles on TV and on the internet while Lily had never watched one. Lily fumbled with her Pokédex to look at Seel's moves, whereas Amanda proceeded to train Pikachu with the dummy.

"Pikachu, battle!" She commanded, instinctively. Pikachu looked at its trainer and got into a battle stance; standing upright, hands by the side and eyes on the enemy or in this case, the dummy.

"Thundershock!"

Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity and then it launched a streak of electricity at the dummy with its tiny hands. It took the brunt of the hit and some parts of it showed small specks of black.

"Excellent, Amanda!" was the voice heard.

"Pikachu, Thundershock again!"

The Pokémon repeated the action and this time pieces of the dummy started smoldering, but stopped as soon as they had started. By this time, Lily had figured it out, and calmly shouted to Seel,

"Seel, battle!"

Seel got into its battle stance; arms on the floor acting as a balance for its pipedal body, tail higher than its head, and eyes locked onto the dummy.

"Seel, Headbutt it!"

Seel tucked itself in, then launched itself like a rocket at the dummy. Its head connected with the dummy and a small puncture was made in it.

"Lily, finally getting the hang of things, are we?" Prof. Elm blared through the speaker.

Lily grinned as a proud reply.

"Well, let's pump it up a bit, shall we?" Prof. Elm boomed. A clank was heard, and the dummies started moving towards the Pokémon.

Amanda's POV:

Amanda judged, Some kind of machinery is making them move forward. I'll just have to get Pikachu behind it to deliver a blow that'll finish this… Aha!

"Pikachu, let it get in range, dodge around it and finish this with a Thundershock!"

Pikachu waited patiently and allowed the dummy to get close enough then nimbly dodged out of the way as it rushed on through, heading straight for Amanda. Amanda had faith in her Pokémon and stood right where she was. A blast was heard and the dummy stopped, inches from Amanda. Pikachu popped his head out from behind it.

"Pi-ka!" It squealed running over to its Trainer. As Amanda petted it, all she could say was,

"Good job, Pikachu, good job."

Lily's POV:

Meanwhile…

Lily was surprised as the dummy started moving. She unwittingly commanded Seel to tackle the moving dummy. Seel lunged at the dummy but was knocked back by it. It whimpered as it hit the floor.

"No! Seel!" Lily exclaimed.

The dummy picked up speed and was edging closer. She ran up to her Pokémon as it got balanced again. She rubbed its head and it looked at her. She looked at the strategy Amanda used and modified it. She waited until the dummy was close enough and put her plan into action.

"Seel! Powder Snow! Aim for the hole you made!"

Seel sucked in air and let it out as a fine layer of powdery snow. It hit the bull's eye mark; the hole, and a bit of frost formed.

"Again! Full power!"

This time Seel balanced on its tail as it vacuumed air into its lungs. It blasted the dummy with snow and frost formed all over it, with a layer of ice over the hole. According to Lily's expectation's the dummy stopped. "Yeah!" Lily cried as she hugged her Pokémon. It licked her playfully and squealed.

Normal POV:

The sound of clapping was heard through the speaker.

"Wonderful, you two! It seems you two are both ready for the outside. Good luck on your journey!" Professor Elm said, after which the whirring of machinery was heard. A door opened and the girls could see the big, apple tree that provided shade outside the lab. Lily and Amanda shook hands after withdrawing their Pokémon.

"So, we're travelling together aren't we?" Amanda stated, to which Lily nodded. She chuckled and pointed to Amanda's back,

"You forgot your backpack, Amanda. No way are we travelling like that." Amanda looked over her shoulder and noticed it too.

"Oh. My. God. Later!" Amanda exclaimed to Lily as she hurried off to her home.

"Mom! I forgot my-" A breathless Amanda explained as she burst through the door, her explanation cut short as she saw her mom holding up her backpack. A few more minutes, and Amanda was on her journey. She was ready.