AN: I don't own Pokemon; any characters in this story that are recognisable/affiliated with the Pokemon franchise are not in any way my property.
Chapter One
The champion of Johto, Lance the dragon master stood in front of Professor Rowan's lab in Sandgem town in the region of Sinnoh. Two of his dragons stood slightly behind him, his main Pokemon Dragonite and a slightly smaller but no less impressive Charizard. The reason for the champion of a different region being there wasn't to fulfil his duties as champion, but to fulfil his duties of an elder brother.
"Are you sure you're ready Willow? You don't have to start in Sinnoh you know, you could always come back home and work towards challenging me." Lance asked, worried for his younger sister. The younger girl rolled her eyes, the colour a reflection of his and looked away, her long pink hair swaying in the slight breeze.
"I'll be fine."
Lance sighed. He knew he should be lucky; he was able to delay her departure for a few years after the incident but knew he no longer had any reason to delay her. But, at least he knew she'd probably be safer than most kids starting out, mainly because she wasn't a kid anymore. At 16 she'd be older than most kid's starting their first Pokemon journey and thankfully shouldn't fall prey to rookie mistakes that lead to the leading majority of Pokemon related deaths.
"Are you sure you don't wanna borrow Charizard until you get a bit more comfortable with your new Pokemon? It'd make me feel a lot better knowing you'd be safe."
In response the large orange dragon huffed, placing a hand on the young pink haired girls shoulder, curling his tail around her slightly with almost a pleading look in his eye. Even the dragon didn't want to see her leave, and he knew his feelings were echoed in Dragonite who was looking at the girl from the corner of his eye.
"I'll be fine, I have Levi." The girl reiterated, her hand moving to pet the small blue jackal Pokemon in her arms.
Once again Lance sighed; he wished she would take Charizard but at least she'd have her Riolu. At least he knew she'd be well taken care of with that Riolu around, despite him being relatively weak at only level 10, Lance knew the Pokemon would do everything in its power to keep his sister safe. The sound of a door opening caused the siblings to turn towards the sound, a fact that had the professor stifling a laugh at the identical fierce looks on their faces at being interrupted.
"Lance, it's good to see you. I assume this is your sister you contacted me about. Good morning Willow."
"Good morning Professor Rowan." The girl responded, a blank look taking over her otherwise pretty face. A shame the professor thought, if only she'd show some emotion she'd look a lot better.
Professor Rowan was an intimidating man in the flesh, tall with shockingly white hair, and dark eyes under thick white eyebrows and a stern expression on his face. Despite this, Lance knew the man to be a kind and patient and was glad that he was the professor who would be looking after his sister on her journey, rather him than the scatter brained Elm.
"Well come on in and we'll sort you out with a Pokemon Willow."
Having said his piece, the professor turned around and entered his lab, walking towards a table where three pokeballs rested, a symbol for grass, water and fire in front of their respective balls. Turning to the sibling duo behind him, he gestured towards the pokeballs before releasing each Pokemon.
"Inside of these pokeballs are the three started Pokemon for this region. The Water type Piplup, the Grass type Turtwig and finally the fire type Chimchar. Each have their advantages and disadvantages but all are astounding Pokemon that have been bred to the finest quality here in this lab. Any of them would be a fine first Pokemon. Well second in your case." The professor recited the starter Pokemon spiel, amending his statement slightly upon the growl from the girls Riolu.
"No offense professor Rowan but I'd like to decline your offer of a starter Pokemon."
The professor in question looked hard at the young girl, his eyebrows furrowing making his stern expression seem even fiercer.
"And why is that might I ask?" Professor Rowan inquired; interested to hear why the girl would decline a Pokemon that many children would beg to receive.
"Well I already have Levi," the Riolu in her arms yipped in response, wagging its tail slightly in pleasure. "And I want to have a team that is aware of their predatory instincts and is able to use them. Something that lab Pokemon, who haven't grown up in the wild, won't be aware of."
Lance once again sighed, knowing that such an action was going to become common place when hearing about his sisters plans. And she wonders why he worries, how could he not when she's decided her Pokemon team's main strength is going to consist of Pokemon considered predators. Maybe it was a good thing she said she'd stay away from Dragon Pokemon, claiming it was his expertise and she wanted her own. This was at least an area of relief for Lance, as he wasn't sure his heart would be able to cope with his sister being surrounded by a legion of fierce Dragons.
"Is that so? If that's the case I'm unsure how that Riolu of yours will fit into your team or even serve as a capable protector until it evolves." The professor replied sceptically, looking at the quickly angering Riolu in confusion.
"He might not have been born in the wild, but he has grown up surrounded by dragons, so I wouldn't count him out just yet." The girl responded, patting the head of her Pokemon consolingly as it snarled towards the professor baring its canines in anger, a fierce look in its eye at being challenged over its ability to protect his master.
"Hmmm well I might just have something for you if you're set on not receiving a starter, wait here." The professor nodded to himself, a frown on his face almost if asking himself if it was a good idea before moving into a room hidden from view behind a bookcase, scanning a card before entering.
Willow sighed, looking towards her brother who was looking towards the ground with a worried look on his face. Rolling her eyes she bumped him with her hip lightly causing him to look up.
"You don't have to be so worried, I can take care of myself, and it's not like Levi hasn't protected me before."
"I know that, but it's still hard not to worry. I know you're older now than most trainers with a better bond with your first Pokemon than many start off with but it's still a big thing for you to leave me." The elder sibling sighed, looking away with a slight blush on his face, embarrassed at the shocked look on his sisters face at his emotional confession, something which was out of the ordinary for the normally fierce dragon master.
"I'm only a phone call away, and if I have a psychic type Pokemon that knows teleport I'll come visit you." Willow placated, reaching out to hold her brothers hand, an action that she did regularly as a child.
Lance looked at his sister then, trying to look past his view of her as a younger sister who needed to be protected and really tried to see her. She'd grown up a lot these past 3 years, and although she was still young compared to him, he'd say at times she was even more mature than he was himself. That didn't mean that she still wasn't playful or even immature, the escapades that included her and their cousin Claire were enough to prove that, but she no longer had the innocence of childhood that he wished she could've still retained even after the incident. He was relieved the know that she'd have Levi by her side, knowing that once evolved she'd have a strong friend to keep her safe, although he knew that even now the Riolu would try his hardest to keep his master safe. The beeping and opening of a door once again gained the attention of the two siblings and Riolu. The Pokemon professor walked back into view, an egg nestled in an incubator in his arms. The egg itself was light brown in colour, with orange ovals surrounding the top just under a large white patch covering the top.
"I'm going to entrust you with this egg if you'll agree to carry it, a Pokemon egg must be carried by a trainer with Pokemon in their party for it to hatch. I think you're the right candidate for this Pokemon due to your mind set towards Pokemon…along with your age as I can't really entrust this to a 10 year old." The professor trailed off, looking a bit sheepish at the last part of his explanation, the expression looking odd on his normally stoic visage.
"I've never seen an egg like this in Johto professor," Lance stated uneasily, looking towards the larger than normal egg.
"It was sent to me by an associate from the Kalos region; it was originally fossilised next to a fossil of a recently discovered Pokemon, and they seem to think this is an egg belonging to that Pokemon. Thankfully due to recent developments in the restoration of fossils and such, they were able to return this egg to life and as such want to know more about this Pokémon's evolution. However I no longer have the time or energy to travel Sinnoh anymore so I am unable to meet the conditions to hatch this Pokemon so I'm willing to entrust it to you." The professor responded, looking towards the girl who was looking at the egg with furrowed brows.
"I'll accept, however once it's hatched, I'm not giving it back. It'll stay on as a permanent member of my team." Willow declared, looking to the professor, daring him to refuse when she knew he had little choice if he was to fulfil his task of studying this Pokemon.
"That's fine Willow, however in return I wish for you to take a Pokedex and record the information of the Pokemon you meet including the one inside the egg once it hatches. It'll also help you in understanding the Pokemon you catch as it'll list the attributes and moves your Pokemon have learnt."
"That's fine, I agree to those terms." Willow responded, placing her Riolu onto the ground before stepping forward to take the incubator off the professor, testing the weight in her arms before stepping back.
The professor then turned away once more to head towards his desk, shuffling papers before finding a dark grey Pokedex and handed it to the girl, who placed it in the hidden pocket of her dress.
"I assume the compulsory demonstration of how to catch Pokemon is not needed?" Rowan inquired, nodding when receiving a positive reply from the girl. "If that's all, please pass me your Pokegear so I can register my number and we can keep in touch and you may be on your way."
Upon doing so, the professor lead the young girl, and her brother the door, saying a quick farewell before turning back into the building and walking over to one of his aides. Lance led his sister back towards his two resting dragons that looked up upon their approach, and turned towards their master in wait.
"Well I guess its official then. Have fun on your journey; make sure to ring me if you get into any trouble, and… I'll miss you." Lance stated, blushing slightly at the rare display of emotion he was showing, looking away from the similar blush on his sisters cheeks.
"Have a safe journey home, I'll miss you too."
In an abrupt movement Lance strode towards his sister before pulling her in for a tight hug, squeezing her slightly, before feeling a slight pressure on his leg, looking down to see Levi looking up at him. Lance stepped away before crouching down in front of the small blue jackal, placing a hand on his head.
"Make sure you take good care of her, I trust you." Lance stated, rubbing the Pokemon slightly after receiving an affirmative bark.
Nodding his head, Lance quickly turned towards his dragons seemingly overcome with emotion, recalling Charizard before hopping onto Dragonite's back. With a quick wave, Lance patted the side of his dragon's neck that on his signal hopped into the air before taking off, heading back towards Johto.
Willow sighed looking down at the blue jackal stood against her leg, before looking down at the egg in her arms.
"Well we might as well get a move on if we want to get to Jubilife City before night time, although I should probably go get some provisions for the journey." Willow muttered to herself, nodding absently before turning around and heading towards the blue roofed building that trainers knew to recognise as the Pokemart.