When Mom first told me I should keep a journal of my adventure I was a little hesitant. I mean, what kind of loser keeps a journal, right? But then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized she was right. Maybe the best way to keep track of everything that happens to me is to just write it all down as it happens. That way, if I ever want to tell my story, like when I'm some 90 year-old man sitting in my rocking chair and my great grandkids are asking me what life was like when I was their age, I can just whip out my laptop and show them everything I wrote about my Pokémon journey.

My name is Ash Ketchum. Right now I am 15 years old, and today is the day that I begin my Pokémon journey. My goal is to become a true Pokémon Master. Now I know that's pretty ambitious for a kid like me, but my philosophy is to shoot for the stars.

So what does it take to go on a Pokémon journey? Well, there are a lot of things that you need. First of all, you have to have a great partner Pokémon, someone you can depend on for anything. Most people who graduate from the Pokémon Academy and get their trainer's license that way receive one of the three starter Pokémon, which although not extremely rare, are always unique to their region and are usually considered to be fairly easy for beginners to raise. For the region I live in, Kanto, that means Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. But I didn't go to the Pokémon Academy. My dad taught me everything I know about Pokémon. He could have also provided me with my starter, but luckily I already had my good buddy Pikachu with me. The story of how I met Pikachu is actually pretty cool, and I wish I could have written it down when it happened, but I can put the short version down now anyway.

I live in Viridian City, which, if you don't know, is the giant city near the western edge of Kanto. In sharp contrast to the bursting metropolis of Viridian, just a mile or so to the north, in the area between and around Routes 3 and 5, is a large forest, named Viridian as well. My family, which consists of Mom, Dad and I, go there a lot for picnics, camping and in recent years, my dad had taken me out there to show me about Pokémon battles and care and other things like that. One day, when I was eleven or twelve, my dad had taken me out to show me a Beedrill nest. A lot of people would probably think he was crazy for taking a young kid so close to angry Beedrill, but he taught how to calm them down and make them feel comfortable so that they won't attack.

So after a few hours, most of which were spent playing with the baby Weedle, my dad decided to take a nap and leave me to my own devices. Being a typical twelve year old kid, I wasn't content to stay in the one area for long, so I wandered off and happened to find my way down to a stream. I bent down to get some water, but just as I was getting ready to drink, something yellow in the grass by the bank caught my eye. I crawled over to it to find out that it was a Pikachu, and it was covered in blood!

Needless to say, I carried it back to where my dad was resting and within seconds of waking him we were on our way to the Viridian Pokémon Center. As near as Nurse Joy could figure (most of the Pokemon Nurses in Kanto are from the same family, and they are all named after virtues) this was a young Pikachu who had gotten separated from his pack and was attacked. She thought it was a Fearow, because they were known to go after young Pokémon that were separated from their groups, but there was no way to prove it. After she treated all of the injuries she asked me to take care of him, and I eagerly agreed, with my dad's full approval.

We became fast friends, and even after Pikachu was fully healed he chose to stay with me and become my partner. Together we became a lot stronger, and I have no doubt that he could whip any Fearow that came his way now. Also, since we became friends when I was still in that easily influenced stage of life I think we have a much better understanding of each other than most trainers have with their Pokémon. I won't go so far to say that we talk, like, in the same language or whatever, but we certainly can communicate our thoughts and intentions to each other pretty well.

Along with having a starter Pokémon to journey with, there is a whole host of supplies that you need to get so that you don't come running home after the first day. A good portion of the stuff are things specific to a Pokémon trainer, like a belt for the Pokeballs of the Pokémon I currently had on me (right now that belt is empty because, of course, I hadn't caught any Pokémon yet, and Pikachu, never having been officially caught, doesn't have a Pokeball, and I wouldn't want to put him in one now anyway). I also have spare Pokeballs for catching new Pokémon, my solar powered Pokedex with full information on all Kanto Pokémon, and a small pouch full of potions and other Pokémon medicines. Most of the rest of my supplies are just the basics. Mom bought me a special bag that is part of a set that the Silph Co. specially made for Pokémon trainers. It has a solar panel woven into the back which charges up a battery. This battery can be used to inflate the awesome sleeping bag which folds down to the size of a book at the bottom of the bag. The rest of the space is taken up by a few nonperishables, a couple sets of clothes and the slim little laptop my mom got for me to keep my journal on.

After double-checking that I had everything and making certain that Pikachu was perched comfortably on my shoulder, I descended from our flat into the gym below.

That part of my life probably needs some extra explanation. See, my dad, Ashton Ketchum, is the leader of the Viridian City Pokémon Gym which, of the eight gyms in the Kanto region, has always been considered one of the most prestigious, both because of my dad's skill in battling and my mom's ability to design a gym that fully tests the capabilities of challenger and Pokémon. Dad is unique among the Kanto leaders in that he had no type preference, which is because he says that it would be disrespectful to all of the other types.

At the bottom of the staircase is a hallway which leads all of the way to the elevator for the building, with doors leading to the main gym and the practice rooms of the gym trainers apprenticed to Dad, as well as their bedrooms, exiting off along the way. Since I knew a challenger was coming today, I turned left into the gym so that I could cheer Dad on in his battle and say good bye to both him and Mom, since she wasn't upstairs and she usually watched him battle.

Even before I had opened the door I knew that it was a heated battle. I could hear Dad's voice echoing out into the hall. "Well, boy, I have to hand it to you, you do know your stuff. Most of the challengers that come here are cocky, arrogant little kids just starting off as trainers, but you must have learned something from your training in Sinnoh. I'm glad to have the chance to battle you. However, our battle is just about over."

I ran into the gym so fast Pikachu nearly fell off. Dad was only that confident about a win when he used one Pokémon. His starter.

Just as I thought on Dad's side of the field was Rhydon. Dad had trained her, yes, a female, since they were both really young, and she was without a doubt his strongest Pokémon. On the other side of the field was a purple haired trainer commanding a Weavile. I could dimly remember that Sinnoh was pretty far to the north and much of the region was covered in snow and constant, making it the perfect habitat for Ice types like Weavile. Unfortunately, although this challenger clearly wanted to beat Ground with Ice, he either forgot or didn't think it was important that Rock types have the advantage over Ice types.

Mom, instead of spectating, was actually refereeing for this match, but as soon as I entered she called out to me. "Hey sweetie! Your father is just about to finish up with this challenger, and then we can give you a proper send off." I nodded to her with a smile, because I always liked watching Dad battle and I wouldn't want him to postpone his battle on my account.

When Mom spoke up, Dad looked over at me and winked, but the challenger was indignant. "Hey, I resent that. 'Finish up with this challenger.' I don't think it will be that easy."

Dad just smiled. "Well, Paul, if you think you are going to win, by all means, take the next move."

Paul smiled as well, but it was the grim smile of someone who didn't truly get enjoyment out of what he was doing. "Weavile, Metal Claw!" So that was what he was doing! He didn't care about the type disadvantage because he had a move to counter it. But I wasn't worried about Dad.

As Weavile charged Rhydon with glowing iron claws, Dad calmly gave his order. "Counter with Rock Blast then charge Weavile with Take Down." Rhydon began materializing boulder after boulder and hurling then at the challenger. Weavile was able to slice through the first few but it was quickly overwhelmed by the barrage and couldn't keep it up. The moment Weavile was down Rhydon flew at it with a speed that seemed to defy its great, lumbering size.

The battle was over in that instant. No challenger Pokémon that I have seen has ever been able to withstand a full body Take Down from Rhydon. But Paul didn't know that. I could see by the complete shock on his face that he was certain he was going to win this battle. But instead of looking devastated, he put on that same grim smile. "Good match Mr. Ketchum. I can see why you are considered one of the best of the Kanto Gym Leaders. I will see you again Mr. Ketchum, and the next time I will win."

He stormed past me and out the door without a second glance. The moment the door was shut, I smiled at my dad. "Well, he sure seems happy."

Dad threw his head back and laughed, and then he and Mom walked over to me. More specifically, Dad strolled over with his usual air of self-confidence, and Mom charged straight towards me, dodging obstacles in the gym like a Rattata in a maze until she could envelope me in a bear hug.

I had thought that there was something weird about her recently. Normally if Dad was going to take me out into the forest for an hour she would spend fifteen minutes making sure her little boy was a safe. Then she would find an excuse for a big, dramatic embrace that for me at least felt like it lasted five minutes.

Up until this point she had been extraordinarily calm. Other than fretting a little too much about how my bag was packed, Mom really didn't act overly concerned about the fact that I was about to go on the biggest journey of my life, one that would take me hundreds of miles from home and potentially put me in life or death situations. But the moment she wrapped me in her arms, I knew that she was really in a state of shock over the whole thing, like she didn't believe I was really going to go until I showed up in front of her with my bag packed and my running shoes on.

"Easy Delia," Dad said as he neared us, putting a hand on Mom's shoulder. "If you squeeze him anymore, we might have to treat him for broken ribs." I don't know if it was Dad's joke or my leaving, but when she finally let me go I thought I could see tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you sweetie. I just, I can't believe you're really going. My little boy is all grown up."

Now I was certain that she was crying. For a moment I wanted to make some kind of sarcastic remark, to act all macho like Dad would, and tell her that I'd be just fine. Instead I threw myself into her arms and cried with her.

When we pulled apart Mom smiled at me. "Ash, sweetie, I, I'm glad that you're going to do this. If you want to be a Pokémon Trainer, then you need to go on a Pokémon journey."

"Thanks Mom, that means a lot to me."

"Hey champ," Dad slapped me playfully on the arm. "I met your mom when I went on my journey. Maybe you will meet your future wife on yours, kid."

Mom blushed, and I just rolled my eyes. About every fifth time we talked about my journey, Dad brought up dating, and vice versa. "Yeah, whatever Dad." Suddenly I realized this was it. It was time to go. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to say good bye to your parents when you are about to go on the biggest trip of your life. Really, the best thing to say is just, "Good bye Mom, Dad. I'll call you when I get to Stone Town."

"And I'll be seeing you again soon anyway son." When I gave him a look he continued. "If you want to get all of the Kanto Gym Badges, you're going to have to challenge me sometime."

I gave him a half sarcastic salute and Mom a little wave, then turned to where Pikachu had hopped off my shoulder when Mom had charged me. "Ready to go, bubby?"

"Pika! Pikachu!" He climbed up onto my shoulder and gave me the same salute I'd just given my dad.

"I'll take that as a yes." I only looked back once as I headed towards the door.

Because I've lived in Viridian City since I was born, it took almost no time at all for me to get to the north end of town. Within the hour I was on the road to Stone Town with only one little mishap.

I was getting pretty close to the city limits, when I heard a weird rattling noise from inside a trash can. I knew that sometimes city Pokémon get hungry and dig for trash just to get something to eat, so I thought I'd check it out. Hopefully I'd get a new Pokémon out of it.

Just as I was nearing the bin, it fell over and out popped a Meowth. The poor thing looked confused, but when it saw me it tried walking in my direction. I quickly noticed that it was limping and favoring its left forepaw.

"Little guy, what's wrong? Is your paw hurt?"

Suddenly the Meowth rose up onto its hind legs and gave a very human sounding laugh. "What's wrong is that yous is gonna give us dos Pokeballs ya got." Before I could even register the fact that this Meowth was talking to me two people rose up out of the shadows in the alley behind it.

The one on my left was a girl with really long reddish hair that stuck out in the most ridiculous hairdo I'd ever seen. She was wearing a solid black blouse and a black skirt, but I could tell by how wrinkled and patchy they were that it was probably her only pair of clothes. The guy on my right had slightly shaggy blue hair, and his clothes consisted of a black T-shirt and shorts, just as ragged as the girl's. They both had a Pokeball in their hands, and grim looks on their faces.

"To take from those greedy moneybags!" the girl said.

"And to escape from a life that's a horrible drag!" the boy responded.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

The girl, Jessie, looked like she was about to say the next line in what I was coming to understand was some kind of motto, but the Meowth used its Fury Swipes attack on them to shut them up. "You morons, I told ya dat we don't got time for dat!"

"Right, sorry. Of course, Meowth." Came the muffled response from the boy, presumably James.

After I got over the shock of being part of what was clearly a not too well thought out mugging, I noticed that the two humans weren't that much older than I was, maybe 17 or 18. I couldn't really tell how old the Meowth was, because I wasn't an expert in those kinds of things, but judging by its slight speech impediment it probably hadn't been talking for too long. Wait, what am I saying? Meowth aren't supposed to talk at all!

Pikachu and I tried to sneak away quietly while they were distracted, but the moment we moved Jessie noticed. "Hey you! Get back here and give us that Pikachu!"

I immediately turned around to face them. I made a choice right then and there that I wasn't going to allow these Pokémon thieves to run wild, because if there is one thing I can't stand, it is people who think they can just go around stealing Pokémon and breaking up friendships. "If you want my Pikachu you're going to have to fight me for him!"

"Oh, that can be easily arranged," James laughed. "Let's get 'em Koffing!"

"You too, Ekans!" The Poison types were summoned from their Pokeballs right in front of me. Even though they usually weren't that big, I had the strangest feeling that they were towering over me. But that wasn't the biggest problem.

"Hey, that's not fair! You're only allowed to send out one Pokémon at a time!"

James laughed at me. "Who said anything about fair? We're criminals after all. And anyway, we did send out one Pokémon. Each."

"Yeah. And if you don't like it, send out two of your Pokémon!"

I gave them a Mareepish grin, and then bowed my head in shame. Now it was Meowth's turn to laugh. "Hey guys, maybe we should find another twerp ta rob. Dis ones only got da one Pokémon!" All three of them laughed, which really irked me. Maybe I was only a beginner trainer, but that didn't mean I couldn't beat them!

"Oh yeah? Pikachu's worth ten of your Pokémon!"

"Well I hope so, twerp, 'cause it looks like that's all we're getting out of you."

Now I was fighting mad. "Pikachu, jump up on the Koffing and Thundershock it!" Before either of the thieves could react, Pikachu was already on top of the Poison Gas Pokémon. But he lost focus when the Ekans suddenly launched a Poison Sting. I pretty quickly figured out what the problem with one on two was. My one Pikachu had to constantly deal with attacks from both sides, but whenever one of their Pokémon got tired it could take a short break then come back stronger than ever. Fortunately, I had speed on my side.

"Pikachu, I want you to dodge around them with a Quick Attack, then when you see an opening give 'em a Thundershock!"

"Pika!" My partner called the affirmative. He began dashing back and forth across the road, sending Koffing and Ekans reeling in confusion.

Finally James got tired of it. "Koffing, stop that nonsense and use Poison Gas Attack!" Even as Koffing was preparing its attack, Pikachu launched a super charged Thundershock. The electricity caused the gas to explode. Pikachu was able to use its amped up speed to dodge to safety, but Jessie's Ekans wasn't so lucky.

For a split second, I saw the comical image of a Pokémon judge announcing, "Koffing and Ekans are unable to battle, Pikachu wins!" but it was shattered when the would-be thieves recalled their knocked out Pokémon.

"Alright little twerp, will let ya go dis time. But next time ya won't be so lucky." Then the three turned and ran into the alley.

I momentarily considered going after them. Those three, while not particularly dangerous, certainly would be a nuisance for anyone traveling through this area. But I decided to just let them be. Maybe someone would be able to get them on the straight and narrow someday.

"Pi Pikachu!" My little friend ran up to me and gave me a big tackle-hug. And I hugged him right back.

"Hey buddy, I guess we won our first Pokémon battle, though it wasn't really an official one."

"Pika, Pikachu. Chu chu pica pi."

I sort of laughed nervously. "Sorry buddy. My Poke-speech isn't that good. But I can tell you're happy, and that's what is important, right?"

"Pikachu!" He nodded.

"Alright then. Well, I want to get as far down Route 3 as we can before it gets dark, so we had better get moving."

"Pika."

Without random thugs attacking us, we made pretty good progress and by noon we reached a river that was formed from a brook and a stream that flowed east out of the mountains and was bridged by the main road. Of the two Routes that exit Viridian City to the north, Route 5 which follows the coast to Aquamarine Town and Route 3 which runs almost straight north and into Viridian Forest and exits right near Stone Town, I like Route 3 a lot better. I don't like the constant crashing of the waves on shore: it's sort of distracting when you're trying to wage a Pokémon battle. On the other hand, the babbling brooks and splashing streams have a soothing affect, and there are a whole bunch of Pokémon that call the forest home. Right now, however, I wanted to try my hand at fishing.

A short walk downstream from the bridge was a small pond, not even fifty feet across, but too murky to tell how deep. Taking the extendable rod out of my bag and giving Pikachu a nod, I cast the bobber out into the center with a flick of my wrist, coolly extending it at the same time. I had been sitting on a rock by the bank for a few minutes with pretty much no success when suddenly I got the feeling that someone was watching me. I turned around and, lo and behold, standing on the path behind me was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen.

Misty's Memoirs

May 5. Now that was a fun day. And by fun, I mean arggggggggggggggggggggg! Looking back, I guess it wasn't sooooo bad, and some good things did come out it, but no one likes to get eaten, right?

Yeah, I should probably back up and explain what happened. Mom had given me a month off from training at the gym to travel around Viridian Forest to look for new Water types. Great, thanks Mom. You let me think I'm getting some time off, but instead you just want me to run your errands, and I don't even get to go somewhere nice like the beach or Lake Rage over in Johto. No, little Misty has to go into a nasty, dark, disgusting forest, and the worst part is, there are barely any Water Pokémon in it, and the whole place is crawling with Bugs! Of all the horrible things in the world, Bug types are just, blech!

After I popped into Viridian City to heal my Pokémon at the Center and get a few potions, I was heading north when I saw some kid failing at fishing in a pond near Route 3. Maybe it's a little rude to call him a kid, because he turned out to be the same age as me, but I mean, how bad to you have to be with Pokémon to not even know how to fish? Seriously.

The kid was clearly at the wrong side of the pond, fishing at the wrong part of the day to catch anything but Magikarp, and appeared to be using just some run-of-the-mill fishing rod he picked up at a department store. Even the most average fishers could tell him at least five different things he was doing wrong, and with Mom as my teacher I'm pretty sure I'm at least a little better than 'average'.

Whatever the kid lacked in fishing skill, though, he made up for in his perceptiveness, because only a minute after I stopped to watch him, he turned around to look at me. From behind he had been pretty easy to judge, with his wild black hair sticking out from under his red cap; he sort of had this rough, outdoorsy vibe. But when he turned around I felt bad about judging him, 'cause he was kind of cute. He had bright brown, mischievous eyes, a cocky, but still pleasant smile, lips like…

Whoa, Misty! Reign yourself in there! You haven't even met this guy yet, and you're already thinking about…never mind.

Knowing Mom, she would think that the first thing I said to him was to cover up my feelings for him, which tells you all you need to know about Mom's romantic intelligence.

"You know you're doing that wrong, right?"

"Oh yeah," he grinned. "Who says?"

"Me, Misty Waterflower, daughter of Brooke Waterflower, the Cerulean City Gym Leader."

"And I'm Ash Ketchum, son of Ashton Ketchum, Viridian City Gym Leader."

"Are you mocking me, kid?"

He gave me this look like he thought I was an idiot. Can you believe the guy? Some kid, looking at Misty Waterflower like she was an idiot? And then he started laughing at me! I ran over to him, closing the distance between us in five seconds, and I had my hands around the hood of his jacket in another two. That shut him up pretty quick.

"Listen, you little punk. I really am the daughter of the Cerulean City Gym Leader, so you can just shut up, and tell me who you are."

"Which do you want first?" His question caught me so completely off guard that I dropped him back onto the rock he had been sitting on.

"What?"

"Which do you want first? Do you want me to shut up first, or do you want me to tell you who I am first?"

I hate people like that! You start to say something, and you clearly mean one thing, but they misinterpret your words intentionally just to make you mad. He even had that stupid smile back again.

"Tell me who you are!"

"I already told you, my name is Ash Ketchum, and my dad is Ashton Ketchum, Leader of the Viridian City Gym."

"Would you stop lying to me, you little kid! There is no way an idiot like you is the son of a Gym Leader."

"Oh that's rich, coming from a ginger."

Now he'd done it. If you really want to get a redhead mad at you, just mention her hair color and you'll have the fight of your life on your hands. I grabbed him by the hood again, and two things happened simultaneously. First off, the Pikachu standing on a nearby rock that was watching us like a tennis match, and who I'd soon learn belonged to the kid, jumped between us, and to this day I still don't know if he was trying to separate us, or shock us or just wanted his own opinions added to the conversation, because of the other thing that happened. Somebody decided he was hungry. But not just any somebody. Not even a remotely human shaped somebody. A giant blue Water type somebody. A freakin' Gyarados!

The atrocious Pokémon leapt straight out of the water and right at the three of us. Ash was able to throw himself out of the way, and Pikachu was small enough that Gyarados just passed over him, but I was directly in the path of those gaping jaws. They clamped shut around my bare midriff and we went hurdling forward; I foolishly remember thinking that if only I had worn something other than my usual tank top, things might have been different.

The fangs bit down into my belly and I felt an icy pain burning through my body. Every part of me was simultaneously burning and freezing as I rolled around in a world of green and red and everywhere a thrashing, flailing blue. I remember begging, praying to anyone and anything to make it stop. I would do anything to make it stop.

Amidst my screaming and the grunting of the Gyarados, I heard Ash yell something like, "Pikachu Thundershock the heck out of that thing! Knock it out, knock it out! Help me!" Suddenly, mercifully, the cold feeling just disappeared, but that just made the burning that much worse.

My vision was just a field of red; my entire body shear pain. I felt a hole, in my side, and when I put a hand to it, it felt sticky. Then the pain began to fade, and the world with it. Black started to close over the red, as numbness removed the pain. Then something else entered my field of vision and something disturbed the eerie silence that was descending on my ears. Ash's face and Ash's voice. "Misty! Misty, hold on!"

He disappeared again, but something, some sense of desperation in his voice pulled me out of the darkness. Even though it hurt more than I could ever imagine, I struggled back towards reality.

Ash's Adventures

I couldn't believe how much Misty was bleeding.

After I threw myself out of the way of the Gyarados, Pikachu and I immediately started trying to get him off of her. I think he was using Ice Fang, because the entire area where he was biting was quickly turning blue, at least what wasn't covered in blood. We were quickly able to knock out the Pokémon, and instead of struggling to get it off of her, I just captured it. Part of me was hoping that I would be able to train it after it calmed down, but for the most part I was more worried about what was going to happen to the girl I had literally just met.

I grabbed one of the shirts from my bag and tied it around her to stop the bleeding. I knew she needed a hospital, but the question was which one. I don't know anything about injuries, but something like that probably needed to be treated yesterday. I had just come Viridian, yes, but I was pretty sure that we were more than halfway to Stone Town. Something inside me said that heading north was the best option, so I put my backpack on backwards and, with a little help from Pikachu, I was able to carry Misty piggyback style.

I don't really remember much of that journey. The only thing that really stuck was the burning of my legs telling me to slow down and the occasional moan from Misty spurring me to run faster. I don't even know how I found the hospital when I got to Stone Town. Everything was a daze of worry and tiredness. The last coherent thing that I remember at all from that day was stumbling into the hospital and collapsing, all the while thinking that this sure was a great way to start my Pokémon journey.