Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The First Day

Flames cover the field, smoke making it impossible to see the outcome of that last amazing attack. Slowly but surely the smoke begins to clear. The aftermath is total destruction. Two Pokémon lay on the field. One resembling an orange dragon with a long neck, sharp fangs, wings sprouting from its back, a torso with arms and legs, and very sharp claws. The other seeming like a red, overgrown, human-like chicken, with bulked up leg muscles and arms. Charizard and Blaziken both seemed out for the count, laying in the middle of the wasteland that was once a Johto League stadium battlefield. The audience in the surrounding seats were quiet with all eyes on the two Pokémon. The judge raises a green flag in his left hand, a red in his right. He opens his mouth to declare the battle a draw, when both Pokémon move their arms. A soft gasp comes from the crowd as both Blaziken and then Charizard rise to their feet. Panting, the two Pokémon glare at each other.

"Charizard!" calls the trainer to the left of the judge.

"Blaziken!" calls the trainer on the right of the judge.

"Use Flamethrower!" they called together. Responding to their trainer's calls, both Charizard and Blaziken leaned their heads back, before pushing them forward with mouths wide open, orange and red flames bursting out of them both. The flames shot right for each other, both red hot steaming trains ready to crash. The flames collided, bursting out in a huge explosion, covering the field with smoke once more. The crowd burst into cheers as the battle continued, but became silent once more as the suspense was too great for some to handle.

Once again the smoke began to clear, and once it did, both Pokémon were laying on the ground again. The judge raised the flags again, but before he could declare the draw, Charizard began to move again. Following suit, Blaziken began making his way to his feet. Blaziken made it up first, and the battle's continuation depended on Charizard now. Grunting as it rose, Charizard got to his feet. Smirking as he stood, his face was suddenly distorted with pain as he fell over again. The crowd erupted once again, this time not stopping, as the judge raises only the red flag this time.

"Charizard is unable to battle! Harrison and his team win!" Harrison pulls out a pokéball, a ball with it's top being red, and bottom being white, with a gray line cutting the ball in half down the middle and a button in the center, and points it at his Blaziken. A red beam shot out of the small button as the ball opens. The red beam hits Blaziken, and the Pokémon's body is engulfed in red light. Blaziken's form then shrinks into the beam as it recedes back into the ball. The pokéball then shuts, and Harrison presses the button. The ball shrank to the size of a nutshell, and he attached it to his belt.

Harrison walked across the field to his opponent, who had called back their fainted Charizard. Harrison outstretched his right hand. "You and your Pokémon fought well. I was biting my nails at the end there. Well fought, Ash."

A loud, annoying noise blared into his ears. How I hate mornings he thought to himself. Opening his eyes, his eye lids felt kind of crusty, so he wiped the sleep from them. Staring up at the ceiling, he sighed.

"Time to get moving," he motivated himself, "Today is the day!" The world seemed to spin as he rolled over. The blaring noise was his alarm clock. Reaching out with his hand, he turned the noise off, a sudden quiet rushing into his ears now. Taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, he sat up and from there stood. Stretching his arms and legs, he yawned.

Looking at himself in the mirror on his closet door, he smirked. His auburn hair sitting on his head, cut to just the right length at his ears. It hung a little over his forehead, concealing most of it. Making last changes to his hair, his brown eyes gazed back at him, a fiery passion burning in them for what was to be, in his mind, the greatest adventure yet.

Letting his eyes fall down his image, he saw a good looking boy. He was a skinny boy, with enough muscle to make him a decent size. Weighing in at 152 lbs., he formed a fist with his hands, watching as the muscles rippled under the skin as he did so. Releasing the tight grip, he examined his shirt. It was black, with the edged along the holes of the sleeves and the bottom torso hole being designed with flames, no larger than four inches. Over that, he had a red vest with two breast pockets, and two pockets for his hands at the sides. Continuing down, he had some dark blue jeans on. They were a five pocket pair of jeans, two pockets near his waist in the front, two in the back, and then the fifth down on the side of his thigh. His shirt went down to the tip of his pockets, and fit him perfectly, not too tight, not too loose, as did his jeans. Lifting the bottom of his shirt up a bit, he examined his only belt, a black one, with the buckle shaped like a pokéball. Lowering the shirt, he continued his examination as his eyes fell down to his shoes. They were tennis shoes. With a white bottom made of traction material, the top was red, and the sides were also red. A single white line ran along the sides of the shoe, making a symmetrical design, and met in the back of the angle, right behind the Achilles tendon. Where the lines met in the back, they formed a circle, which had a pokéball inside it. The pant legs of his jeans fell down over the red shoelaces, and the back stopped just short of the bottom edge of the shoes. Lifting the legs up a little, he saw the white socks that were concealed underneath.

Bringing his eyes back up to his face and letting his pant legs fall again, he grinned. Turning around and grabbing a hat off of his bedside table, he placed it on his head. It was a biking cap given to him by his father, who was off somewhere in the world with his Pokémon, having decided to become better friends with them so that he could win the family a bunch of money. At least Mom is okay with it. He hasn't been gone too long either. Glancing at the calendar, he let out a soft sigh. It's only been eighteen months. At least we have enough money to be doing well enough without Mom having to get a job yet.

Fixing the cap, he softly smile at the sight of him with his dad's biking cap on again. It was an auburn color, the same as his hair, and didn't have much depth in the front, but gained some the farther you went to the back. On the top rested two lenses of the goggles that were attached to the hat by an elastic, black band.

Taking one last look in the mirror, he figured that this was as ready as he was going to get. With two identical shirts, two more pairs of jeans, and everything else he'd need in his pack, which was black except at the buckle, which was a pokéball as well, he slung it over his shoulders. The black pack wasn't too large, smaller than even the normal backpack. It was more of a sack with two straps strung up in it so it could be placed over someone's shoulders. Nodding at his image, he opened the door of his room and headed for the living room.

"Honey?! Are you ready yet?" The sound of the sweet voice was carried through the air up to his ears. That voice was the one that helped him sleep as a child, and comforted him after nightmares as a kid. That voice was the one who greeted him every time he walked in the door, and said its goodbyes whenever he would leave.

"Yeah Mom, I'm ready." Trotting down the steps that made the staircase to the second floor, his house opened up to him. Walking around a sofa, and dodging a coffee table, he walked under an archway that put him in the kitchen. The sweet aroma of a sausage omelet greeted his nose, making him smile. "My favorite," he told to a woman who had her back to him. She had flowing, red hair that fell down to her mid-back. Taking a seat at a table, he saw the picture of the three of them, his mom, dad, and himself. His dad had brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Yes, I cooked it on purpose, for that reason, since this'll be one of the last days you'll be eating a breakfast cooked by your mother." As she turned with the plate with the omelet in her hands, she softly gasped to herself as she put the plate down in front of him. "Blaze, you look so much like your father with that hat on. It reminds me of the time when-"

"Mom, I've heard these stories about a hundred times each."

"Oh, get over it," she playfully tapped him, "They are stories of your father, can't I remember the past? Besides, you're going away on your own Pokémon adventure today, and I won't have a man around the house anymore!" She turned her back on him again as she went to the sink., turning the faucet on to wash some dishes. "It's gonna be weird not having you around, Blaze. I'm gonna miss you!" A few tears welled up in her eyes.

"Mom, I told you, you should get a Pokémon for yourself! It could help you around the house! It would be like I never even left."

"Oh, poo on you. I guess it isn't a bad idea, but it still wouldn't be the same."

"Ash's mom has a Mr. Mime! Maybe you could get one! Or maybe a Chansey! I hear that Nurse Joy use Chansey all over the world!"

"You really idolize Ash Ketchum, don't you, Blaze? He's all you've talked about the last couple of days."

"He's the greatest trainer in all of Kanto, and he's from Pallet Town! That's just north of here!"

"Yeah, it's a ferry ride away. That's where your father went with his bike and Pokémon, you know."

"Yeah, you only tell me everyday," Blaze laughed a bit at this, his mother chiming in too.

"What time does your ticket say your ferry is leaving?" His mother asked.

"Ten. I should be heading out then. I don't want to miss this, since you've made me wait till I'm sixteen to start my journey." Blaze glared at his mother in a joking manner.

"A boy shouldn't be traveling around at the age of ten," she argued, "Even with Pokémon, it's unsafe! What would happen if you get severely injured? What could your Pokémon do to help you?"

"They can get help, you know. They are intelligent creatures," Blaze argued back.

"Yes, I know they are, but they can only get help if you can get them out of your Pokéballs." Sighing, she decided to give up, knowing it was no use. Blaze loved his father's Pokémon, and had a close bond with them. "You should probably be going, dear."

"Yeah. Thanks for the final breakfast mom." Standing and pushing his chair in, he walked up to his mother and kissed her on the cheek. Hugging her, he slowly let go, knowing that this would be the last time he'd see her in person for some time.

Walking for the door, he stopped in the doorway with the door open. The warm breeze from the volcano and the sea can blowing in, giving the house a pleasant smell. "Be careful and safe, Blaze!" his mother called.

"I will mom. I'll call you everyday, whether from a PokéCenter phone, or a roadside one, I will call you! Bye!"

"Bye," she said softly to herself, wiping a tear from her eye before going back to the chores she was doing.

Letting the door close behind him, he was standing on his porch. Looking away from the house, he saw a beach only a few yards away. The waves were crashing onto the beach that belonged to his family. Thinking back to his father, he smiled again. Dad loved Pokémon of the Fire and Water types. As for me, I like Fire. Taking a few steps off of his porch, he began following a stone path that led to the road out in front of his beachside house. The refreshing breeze blew against his body as he walked, the palm trees blowing in the wind. Walking down the road, Blaze passed all the familiar sites of which he wouldn't see until his return visit.

After he was pretty far out, he turned to look back, his house just visible among the other buildings. Sighing, he turned again and continued into the center of town. As he passed through, many people smiled at him, called to him by name, waved, and wished him luck. Thanking them all, he'd smile and wave back.

It took him twenty minutes before the busy town began to fall away. It was at the edge of town that he saw the clock tower. Behind it, was the official Pokémon League Gym, with the Gym Leader inside awaiting challengers. I'll be back, and I'll take you down! That's a promise! Blaze's eyes were fiery once again as he promised himself this, as well as the Leader of the Gym.

Crossing the edge of town, he saw the ferry in the distance at the dock. "Well, that's my ride to Pallet Town," he told himself. Reaching back into the side pocket of his pack, he pulled out a red plastic tube. It had a button on the front which kept the two sides from separating, an identical button on the back. Unsnapping the buttons, he pulled the two red pieces apart horizontally, and a map unfolded in front of him. "The ferry should get me to Pallet Town by midday tomorrow." He took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Looking back at the island again, a sad smile spread across his face. "I'll see you later, Cinnabar!" Turning back towards the ferry, he jogged off to it. My journey has just begun!