((A/N This is my first story, an OC pokemon adventure I imagined…)

Chapter 1: Mysterious Dragon – What are you?

"The Pallet town Pokemon have now been chosen as of 8 o' clock A.M. this morning! Squirtle was the first to be chosen by 10-year old Kira Pappa, the first to start her journey with her new companion! Next came Devon Aarons, who chose the pokemon Bulbasaur! Last to come was-" The television was silenced by a nonchalant click of the remote. The ex-viewer of the program knew who the next name would have been anyway...Trevor Silverthorn, his own brother, had taken the pokemon that he, Kanith Silverthorn had adored his entire life; Charmander. Now, he was stuck with no pokemon, forced to wait another year for one. Forced to wait in his boring lifestyle of humdrum luxury. He always lived in luxury; the room he was in had many knick-knacks and ornaments. Pictures covered many spots on the wall, and the end tables for the three couches were adorned with doilies. Despite this, Kanith had always stayed outside as long as he could, watching for pokemon in his quiet town of Pallet. His house looked middle-class on the outside, but inside it would have made many people gasp at the simple beauty of the place.

But Kanith had never liked that, finding the gaudy, complicated decorations to make him feel over-pampered and too secure. He enjoyed a sense of adventure, the knowing that he wasn't safe. No, instead, he would train with the one pokemon he had; Poochyena, outside. Over the years, it had become stronger, but not enough serious training was put into the effort. Therefore, it still had yet to evolve to its more powerful form, Mightyena.

Gritting his teeth at the nerve of his brother, Kanith slammed the remote onto the cluttered table.

"Dammit, why does everything happen to me!" He yelled to no one in particular. The only response was the pounding of the rain against the windows, the weather matching Kanith's mood. He was quick to anger, but this made him absolutely furious. His selfish, stuck-up brother had walked off while he took his time thinking it was earlier than it actually was, and he lost the chance he had for Charmander. His parents were never home, and now all he had was his Poochyena. Just as he thought this he sighed, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes. He was impatient, but now he'd have to start the year-long wait again. Thinking this, he ran a callused hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair.

"Not that I wanted Trevor with me anyway…" He told himself, attempting to find comfort in the words. Calming down, he grabbed the remote again to watch other programs, slowly dozing off until the point of deep sleep...

He was awakened later in the night, the rain reaching a loud pounding. The rhythm of it had sent him into a sleep, but a louder, less orchestrated and mechanical sound awakened him - an obnoxious ringing of the phone. Groaning, he roused himself and picked up the phone.

'Who's calling so late?'

He thought as he hit the button marked "Talk".

"Silverthorn house…" he grumbled, forgetting the message he was supposed to say when someone called.

"Kanith? I thought you were supposed to go on your journey…" The rich, melodious voice of his mother questioned in a worried tone.

"Trevor took the chance to take the pokemon I wanted- oh hang on, I think Pooch wants to come in…kinda forgot…" he said with a shaky laugh, his conversation interrupted by scratching at the door. Just before he opened it, he realized that his Poochyena was, in fact sleeping on his bed.

Immediately, his hand left the doorknob. Who – or rather, what would be on the other side if he opened the door? Another scratch on the door. This time a weak "Gonnn….." sound met his ears. Whatever it was, it sounded desperate to get inside, but not to cause harm. Taking a deep breath, he decided that he'd open the door, and help whatever was out there. He touched the smooth, cold doorknob once again, and turned it completely around. On the other side, there was a short shape that was difficult to make out in the outdoor darkness. It had a large head, and had a dark tint to it. It stumbled inside, revealing a short, blue dragon-like pokemon with a grayish crest on its head. Whatever it was, it was covered in numerous bruises and scratches. It was obviously some kind of pokemon, and had been forced into quite deadly battle, and had gotten away somehow. Its eyes were barely open, and its breathing was loud and erratic.

Forgetting about the phone, Kanith knelt down and put a hand on the leathery skin of the pokemon. The only response was a weak growl; obviously it didn't trust humans.

'That's not much of a surprise, judging by the way it looks.'

He thought. He cautiously picked the pokemon up and set it onto the couch. He turned to close and lock the door, then looked back to the blue pokemon. He walked back to the phone and picked it back up.

"…What took so long? Is something wrong?" his mother asked.

"Yeah…Pooch is fine, but-"Kanith stopped, deciding not to tell his mother about the mysterious pokemon that had scratched on the door. He would take care of everything himself, no need to worry his mother.

"But what?"

"Oh, nothing…look, I'm really sleepy, so see ya later…" he said, quickly ending what could have been a lengthy conversation. Sighing, he rubbed his temple; this situation wasn't a good one, and had happened quickly and randomly…the best thing he could do was take it to the pokemon center in Viridian City, which was a good half-mile away. But how long would this pokemon last in the cold? What if he was attacked by a wild pokemon? He could bring Poochyena with him…

"I'll be fine…" he said, reassuring himself from going into a panicked state. He went back into the living area, and grabbed a few blankets, most of which were of value, but they would serve the purpose he intended for them. He wrapped the blankets around the blue, wingless dragon-type pokemon. He picked it up into his arms, and grabbing the key to the house, he went outside, locking the door- the pokemon wouldn't last long if its wounds were infected.

Kanith soon found himself charging through the forest between Viridian and Pallet; he had covered almost all of the needed distance in about 10 minutes, finding the blue pokemon heavier and heavier the harder he ran. His body was covered in scratches, the tree branches cutting his arms and legs, tearing his black vest in several spots. He ran faster, hearing the pokemon's wheezing getting quieter and quieter. It probably would have protested, but was too weak to object. Soon, he was walking on a dirt road instead of grass, indicating that he would be there soon; the single, warm lights of the faraway city bestowing him with newfound energy. He pounded down the dirt road, wondering why he had risked so much for one pokemon; maybe out of a sense of adventure, maybe one of caring, but either way, he was in Viridian City, and the pokemon center was so close.

Kanith walked into the pokemon center, the white pokemon hospital being the only building open to the public at this hour. He rushed up to the desk, looking at the red-haired Nurse. Nobody but him, a red-head Nurse, and a girl with a Pidgeotto were in the center.

"This- pokemon - I – found – at – my – door…." He panted, attempting to regain the oxygen he had lost on his sprint to the center.

"Poor little guy…Chansey, please bring this Bagon to the operating room." the Nurse said kindly, unwrapping the blue pokemon and putting it on a stretcher. The pink, round form of Chansey steered it to the back. The Nurse fixed Kanith with a look.

"Do you have a Trainer's License?" She asked. Kanith shook his head.

"But I was supposed to get one…" Nurse Joy sighed.

"Well, you can get one from the pokemart tomorrow morning, and I'll contact Professor Oak about this…you are from Pallet, correct?" Kanith answered with a nod, taking a seat on one of the rather comfortable armchairs in the waiting area.

"Wait…what's your name?" She asked, having a phone in her hand.

"Kanith Silverthorn…" he answered. Soon the conversation was over, Kanith thinking about what would happen; by the sound of it, he would get a pokemon license! The ten-year old looked up with a grin on his face; maybe he could catch a Charmander this way! He waited for a moment, trembling with excitement. Soon Nurse Joy entered the waiting room, wearing a smile.

"He faxed me this…" She said, handing Kanith a sheet of paper with all of his information on it.

Looking it over, he looked at the Nurse in a questioning manner.

"Take that to the Pokemart tomorrow, and they can give you your Pokedex, and you can start training." Kanith smiled at what he knew was a major victory. But inside, he felt like he was forgetting something…

"What about Bagon?" Kanith asked, looking at the door to the back room worriedly; what could have happened to it? He had grown somewhat attached to it in bringing it here.

"He'll be fine, and since it was abandoned, and no records exist of a trainer within the immediate area owning a Bagon, he rightfully belongs to you…"

Kanith remained silent at this; he didn't know what to think. Inside he was happy that he would stay with Bagon, but he wanted a Charmander to be his first pokemon.

'Oh, so it's male, too.' He thought to himself, replaying the Nurse's sentence mentally. He was jarred back to reality by the Nurse's kindly voice.

"You can stay upstairs for the night. First room on the right." She said, before going to the back room to operate on Bagon.

"Wait…what's your name?" Kanith asked before she was able to open the door; he needed to know the name of the person that helped him save Bagon, and the person that helped him get his license to catch and own pokemon.

"Nurse Joy. Glad to meet you, Kanith." She said with a sweet smile before opening the door.

"Guess I'll just go to sleep…" Kanith said to himself, going upstairs via escalator. On the right were some rooms, and on the left two clerks. A sign on each read "Trade" and "Battle" respectively.

'Probably the formal trading and battle rooms…I gotta check them out tomorrow.' He said, before opening the first door on right. He put the blankets he used to carry Bagon there on the floor before laying down on the bed. He quickly fell asleep, thoughts of becoming a trainer swimming in his head…

Kanith woke the next morning, excited and hyper. He checked the clock; 9 o' clock, the mart should have been open by now. Grabbing the paper he was given be Nurse Joy the previous night out of his pocket, he ran through the white-walled pokecenter to the door, forgetting about his self-promise to give the Battle and Trading rooms a look. He soon reached the door, noticing that the yellow floor was now concealed in my places by the feet of trainers. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by the voice of Nurse Joy.

"Just letting you know that Bagon's doing fine. You should be able to pick him up by the end of the day."

Kanith nodded before rushing outside. The streets were still rather empty in some spots, but there were more people than before, at least. He looked around the buildings before finding a makeshift sigh that read "Pokemart" and pointed to the right. Kanith rushed in that direction, looking left and right, unable to find his destination. He stopped a boy about a year older than him who had six pokeballs at his waist to ask for directions. The boy was silent, but simply pointed across the street - over there was a blue-roofed building. Kanith blushed in embarrassment; what an idiot! And right in front of what looked liked an experienced trainer. He walked calmly over to the pokemart, opening the door to find many trainers all over the place, buying many things. He looked through one isle that was the most populated; it was filled with sprays with different labels. Uninterested, he went through to the next isle.

Here, he found many round disks that read things like 'Flamethrower' and 'Water Pulse'. He asked another trainer browsing one particular bunch of them what they were. He learned that they were Technical Machines, able to teach a pokemon a move it didn't naturally learn. Healso learned about Hidden Machines, which were rarer and were permanent, not breaking like Technical Machines.

He, after browsing for about twenty minutes, finally stepped up to a rather-busy clerk.

"I need a pokedex" Kanith said, showing the clerk his information paper. The clerk used his index finger to push up his glasses. Holding up several customers, he read through everything quite slowly and carefully, stopping a few times to ask Kanith if parts of the information were correct. Finally, after five minutes of trainers complaining about bad service, the man handed Kanith a pokedex. He pressed the 'on' button. In a moment, it said in its mechanical voice:

"This pokedex is registered to Kanith Silverthorn of Pallet Town, age ten. This device contains his license to capture and train pokemon. If it is stolen or lost, all data will be wiped from memory."

Kanith's eyes lit up – finally, he could start his journey…

"I'll just need 2000 pokedollars…"

"Whaaat!" Kanith asked, outraged; he didn't want to pay that much…

"You need to pay for the pokedex." The clerk said calmly. Kanith gritted his teeth in frustration before slamming down nearly all of his money on the counter. He counted out 2000, and handed it to the clerk, mumbling about outrageous prices and daylight robbery. He took the pokedex and stormed out; he didn't have much money left. After loitering outside for a moment, he decided that he would go back to the pokecenter and get Bagon to see if he would join him. He found that the way back was much easier to find than the way there, now that he had memorized the route he had taken to get there.

He soon arrived back at the pokecenter, which was now cleared out significantly. There were only a couple dozen trainers there now. Kanith pushed his way through the crowd with timid "'Scuse me"s. He reached the counter after angering several people from his pushing through, but he was oddly compelled to get Bagon back to see what he felt about him; he had saved his life, hadn't he? And he had grown quite attached to the pokemon, worrying about it on his way to and from the pokemart.

"Nurse Joy? How's Bagon doing?" he asked her. Nurse Joy simply gave her lighthearted smile.

"He's just fine. Here, you can see him…she said, leading him through the back door. Kanith could now see that there were several rooms in the back. Joy led him through one doorway; Bagon standing back on the ground, no longer having bruises nor cuts on him due to Joy's treatment.

"You got him here just in time. He had a new disease that is fatal to pokemon."

"New disease?"

"Yes, it's been appearing before. It seems to be contracted through contact with psychic pokemon, mainly Abra's, for some reason. Just be careful if you fight one."

Kanith nodded, and Joy left him and Bagon alone in the room. Bagon looked up at Kanith, and stepped forward slightly. Kanith knelt down, lightly placing his fingertips on the rock-hard crest on his head. Bagon pulled back slightly, but gave a little "Gonnn…" of pleasure; apparently that was a motion it enjoyed. It stepped forward more.

"Bagon…" Kanith said. The dragon type looked up at his face with intense eyes.

"Will you be my pokemon?" It understood, giving a small nod and toothy grin Kanith found somewhat cute. Bagon followed him out the door and to the front to Nurse Joy.

She smiled at the duo, and handed Kanith five pokeballs.

"A gift from Professor Oak…also, the first gym Leader, Brock, is in Pewter city…" Joy pointed out. Kanith smiled.

"We'll fight him…right, Bagon?" He asked his blue companion.

"Bagon!" It replied happily.

((A/N: So...Whaddya think? Constructive criticism is welcome, of course - flamers, obviously, are not. Please, I'd like to know what you think.))