Pokemon Next

Round 1: The journey begins

In times of legend there were magical creatures that wandered the lakes and forest known as majuu. They were feared by the people because of their magical abilities, the strongest of them were passed down into legend and others worshiped as deities and ruled most of the world because of it. Until four hundred years ago a scientist from pallet town named Professor Shrewsbury dedicated his life to researching the majuu of the Kanto region he discovered that these creatures were not monsters at all but some were quite friendly some were funny some were mean and others grumpy he felt the potential of these creatures to better mankind was astronomical and so he created the pokeball a small wooden ball created from hollow acorns forged by ghost majuu, with these pokeballs he could carry these creatures in his pocket and transport them anywhere. It was decided that because of the tainted history that came with the name majuu and the new invention of the pokeball which would be stored in pockets the creatures became known as pocket monsters Pokemon for short.

With their new name and popularity new uses came too for the Pokemon. Society had soon found that they had use beyond research and industrial expansion. Soon the uppercrust of society began to adopt the creatures as companions. Owning a Pokemon at this time for uses other than research or work was rare but showed a clear sign of wealth one of these wealthy men was Johnathan Goodshow who saw the natural desire the creatures had to battle and compete for dominance and established the Pokemon League. This league was dedicated to finding those who had with the best skills for training and battling Pokemon.

When the title first appeared trainers were a rare thing, they numbered less than a couple hundred. Over the course of the next century the were as common as farmers. From peasant to purebred anyone who dreamed of it could become a Pokemon trainer, they were considered heroes in modern times, they were the brave souls who refused to conform to the nine to five everyday life.

One of these reverer's was Hanna Burton of Floccesy town. Hanna had dreamed of becoming a trainer since the fateful day when she was only six years old on vacation at her grandparents home in Johto she had wandered too far and was nearly pulled into the ocean by a large Tentacruel in Cherrygrove city but before the creature could properly drag her into the ocean a Gyarados devoured the creature and atop its head was it's trainer a man wearing a cap With a powerful but serene gaze.

The man looked down at her and with a nod of his cap said "Be careful around the water." he spat on the ground "The Pokemon look for weakness in people and if they can find it they'll be sure to take advantage of ." after that he rode off into the sunset atop his Gyarados.

Hanna lived her life from that point on with one goal in mind 'Become a great Pokemon trainer' her parents were her greatest obstacle though caring and understanding they still firmly held to the idea that Hanna was a little girl their little girl and the world was a dangerous place.

Still steadfast, Hanna brought the topic up at dinner every night near her birthday starting at age seven. Every time the answer was the same "No we need too much help around here." was her fathers answer said each time with a loud belch following but like most young girls she was tenacious and her pleas brought her parents to a compromise "Once you turn ten you can go wild." that was the moment she began marking her calendar with Jigglypuff stickers to countdown the years.

Hanna's dream was known to everyone who lived in the town and one boy who had developed a precocious crush on her took every opportunity he could to exploit this to gain her favor, he introduced himself as the grandson of the then current champion Alder, he certainly looked the part with his fiery red hair being blown by every stray wind it could catch. He boasted to her his wide knowledge of Pokemon and what he called the 'trainers heart' all of it rather unimpressive to her he remained as an annoyance in her life until he decided to put his own skills to the test and embark on a journey four months before her tenth birthday. She could remember waving to him sadly as he disappeared against the setting sun.

After convincing her parents to let her become a trainer she needed them to buy her a Pokemon to accompany her on her journey her first choice was obvious "I want a Gyarados." she said one sleepy morning watching her father stock the shelves in the small pokemart they owned, he very quietly placed a large package of Purrloin brand Pokemon food on one of the bottom shelves before he replied calmly "Gyarados are mighty expensive and large, not to mention mean. I don't think that's a very good choice." she grumbled putting her hands in the air "What about a Milotic? They are super pretty and one of the champions has one."

Her father looked down at her and sighed "Those are really rare aren't they? I don't think anyone on our salary could afford something like that." she put a finger to her chin to think "Hmmmm...oh what about an Eevee?" her father gave a nervous laugh "Those are also rare and you might want something a little tougher to help you in a pinch." after being told no for the third time Hanna stomped off to her room to watch TV while stuffing her face full of comfort food.

Of the close to forty children in the town their was only one other girl who aspired to be a trainer like her Lora Willcott her parents owned the famous Floccesy Ranch on the edge of town and she was fairly wealthy by the standards of the sleepy town. It was hard not to be jealous considering her and Hanna shared a birthday. Every year they had the same number of attendees Hanna's party:two Loras party:thirty-eight. Hanna would often sit on top of the roof of her home and look at Lora playing with the Mareep on her ranch eating bitter chocolate, everyday though her admirer would follow her to the roof and reassure her with a toothy grin "Don't worry Hanna you'll be a great trainer someday I'm sure of it."it made no difference, eventually the boy left and soon Lora would too. And Hanna needed to be better than her at something.

On the day of her tenth birthday Hanna slept in. This was it. Her parents were firmly obligated to keep their promise and buy her a Pokemon. She sat beneath the covers kicking her feet in glee, because at any moment they would burst through that door with smiles and gifts to celebrate her venturing off into the great big world.

It was half past noon. Nothing

"They didn't forget my birthday did they?" Hanna thought as she applied shampoo in the shower.

As she scrubbed her auburn hair she continued to think of possible explanations for how this could have happened to her "No way they forgot, today is too important." Hanna continued her thoughts all the way out of the shower . She made it downstairs and there she found her parents sitting comfortably with her mother brewing tea in the kitchen and her father lounging on the couch watching football. They barely noticed her walk down the stairs and he raised his hand to wave at her "Happy birthday Hanna." he said calmly, this was not the ideal birthday she had in mind not at all.

"Uhm thanks." she weakly replied looking at her father expectantly for a few seconds before he sat up as if remembering he had left something in the oven too long "Dear!" he called to his wife who hurriedly brought out a backpack and sat it in front of Hanna, her expression was one of confusion until she began rummaging through the backpack and found everything she had ever wanted; a trainers license, spending money and five dirty but still functioning pokeballs she spent her time enthusiastically opening and closing them despite knowing nothing would come out, she struck a pose of dignified excellence and strutted around the living room like a supermodel her moment of bliss was short lived as she remembered something her parents had brought before her everything essential to being a trainer except a Pokemon.

"So that it?" she asked looking at her parents with a forced smile.

The two of them looked at one another before bringing out a small pokeball that they both sat on the table.

"Your father and I decided on a Pokemon that was reliable strong and would come in handy anytime you needed extra help."

Hanna dived toward the table like a mad dog. She grabbed the pokeball excited, yet fearful of what was inside "Strong...reliable." she chanted In her head before throwing the pokeball and seeing what had come out, appearing out of a beam of white light was a creature that looked soft like ice cream. It was small, bipedal, blue-eyed and wore an exceedingly cheery expression it was cream and pink colored with large ears that had long curled extensions that reached just below its shoulders it took its time outside of the ball to look around curiously admiring the soft colors of the kitchen with a small finger to its chin before returning its gaze to Hanna who frowned.

"Strong...reliable." Hanna repeated quietly. She looked at her parents with an exasperated expression "This is a joke right?"

Her mother gave a weak smile before speaking "A Gyarados was unrealistic you knew that, and Eevee are very expensive, even now. Audino are fairly cheap,reliable and easy to manage. This is a good choice I'm sure."

Her father snapped his fingers "That's right you'll need clothes. It's rough out there so you are going to need sturdy clothes made from tough fabric to survive out there." he went into a back room and pulled out a set of folded clothes along with a black hat and a purple C-Gear.

Hanna returned the Audino to it's pokeball before going upstairs to change into her new clothes. Though she was disappointed she was not yet defeated. Though the fluffy Pokemon was just that;fluffy but it was still rightfully hers and she knew the greatest task of a master trainer was to turn small fluffy weak Pokemon into strong capable fighters that would stand by their trainers without question. This was her goal from the beginning.

She quickly switched out of her casual clothes and in to her trainer apparel . A dark green shirt with with a jacket over it, a pair of faded blue jeans and dark green sneakers. As she put on her backpack she flaunted in the mirror and put her pokeballs inside her jacket

On her way back down stairs her parents awaited. She walked to the door quietly her parents had been doting but they were still her parents and though going on this journey had been her dream for years she would for the first time be venturing off into the world without them.

"Be sure to call." her mother said quietly.

Hanna kept one hand in the door way and looked back at her mother with a smile "I will." she left the house and walked down the road and as the clock tower located at the towns center had began to ring she smiled and walked bravely into Route nineteen it was small it was what separated Aspertia city from Floccesy and on foot they were about a three day walk from each other.

Twenty minutes into her harrowing journey Hanna had encountered her first wild Pokemon a cheerful Pidove hopping around pecking trees she smiled devilishly and released her Audino from it's pokeball the small pink furry Pokemon looked very confused. Hanna bent down and whispered to it "Ok so we need to train so you can get big and strong, and we gotta beat that guy over there up so you can do that ok?" the small Pokemon kept a hand to it's chin "Audino." it squeaked back in a manner that told Hanna it only half understood what she was talking about.

"Ok Audino use pound." Hanna commanded softly, her Pokemon looked at her then at the Pidove and seemingly reluctant ran over and punched it off of the tree it was resting in, the small bird got up and shook angrily, it began to chirp and flew into the air diving at Audino who failed to dodge its beak colliding into it's soft tummy knocking it to the ground "Pi!" the bird screeched triumphantly in the air.

"Audino get up and use pound again!" Hanna yelled this time and her small companion stood to her feet and angrily punched at the bird who dodged every time as it floated in the air it came back for a quick gust that knocked Audino back to the ground the bird laughed before flying off too high in the sky to be chased after.

Hanna had fought her first Pokemon and lost, despite the discouraging situation Audino hopped up and walked up to Hanna who was about ready to tear out her hair "Darn it!" she gritted her teeth and kept walking small Audino following behind happily.

A bit further up the road Hanna spotted another Pokemon a Purrloin lazily eating an apple with a look of moderate interest "Ok this one can't fly off." she said to no one in particular looking down at her Audino she raised a fist to the air and said "Ok lets go again use pound on that thing."

"Dino." the Pokemon nodded and ran over to the lazing cat and punched it with her tiny hands knocking away its apple it caught its balance after hitting a tree and growled angrily "Purrrr." the small cat extended its sharp claws to attack Audino who simply took the hit with so much as flinching "Pound." Hanna commanded her Audino who complied and punched the cat who hissed and ran into a nearby bush "No you don't" Hanna smirked and ran after the small cat.

The creature was fast, much faster than Hanna or her Audino but they refused to give up the chase.

The Purrloin was crafty, it climbed up a small hill that took Hanna and Audino much longer to traverse, but upon reaching the top it was cornered. Hanna grinned with her Audino readily behind her she confidently pointed a finger at the small cat ready to issue the order when purple streaks dashed through the bushes all around them.

The nature of the situation was now very apparent this was a trap and Hanna had walked right into it. A large group of nasty hissing Purrloin surrounded them on all sides.

"This can't be happening." Hanna grumbled her Audino now glued to her leg out of fear "Strong and reliable...right." the group encroached slowly before stopping cold in their tracks only a foot away from Hanna frozen in fear.

Hanna looked around and found nothing to be afraid of. Until she looked up, a small cloud of gas with a face stared down at the group of Purrloin and laughed maniacally Hanna fell to the ground joining the group of Purrloin with a look of fear plastered on her face, the creature continued to laugh its large eyes began to glow purple it's gaze physically extended to the Purrloin before who all fell to the ground with a collective thump.

The ball of energy then looked down at Hanna laughing once again before drawing out its long tongue and slowly descending to approach her. It cackled softly and licked her.

"Gross." she flatly said in disgust as Audino continued to look puzzled.

This was surely the worst start she could have imagined for herself the day she decided to become a trainer