A/N: This is a collab between me and my online boyfriend, Freerefill. We hope you enjoy it, and I will update as it is written.
Book 1
Chapter 1: The Chosen Ones
The Kanto Region, one of many places where Pocket Monsters, or Pokémon, exist. The amount of different Pokémon species is unknown. It could be any number. The Kanto Region, however, is home to 150 different types. They rank from small to large, grass to rock, electric to ghosts themselves.
A golden sun rises over the calm waters of Pallet Bay. The morning mist clears, leaving sparkles of dew on the soft, green grass. Today was the day that the boys and girls of Pallet Town had been waiting for; the day they began their journeys as Pokemon trainers. Only three would be selected; the rest would have to wait another year. Kiai didn't even manage to sleep, so he was waiting outside Professor Oak's lab since long before the Pidgey's began singing. As he gazed upon the peaceful colors on the ocean horizon, for which Pallet Town got its name, the stillness was broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. Only one girl could match Kiai's eagerness.
She was a beautiful young woman, no older then 13. Fairly tall for her age, she wore a simple cyan halter top, along with a white mini skirt. She had long brown hair, about waist length. Her eyes were a very beautiful, almost crystal blue color, and she wore a small, golden locket. Her shoes were rather dull in color, being a simple shade of red and nothing more. She had a brown purse strapped across her shoulder, which went from her left shoulder to her right hip. She walked up to where Kiai was standing, her hands clasped together behind her back as she skipped and turned to look at Professor Oak's place. This was Emily.
Kiai could hear the determination in the footsteps on the gravel path. He didn't need to turn around to know that his rival was just behind him, but he couldn't turn his deep, brown eyes away from his friend. He turned and smiled at her. He wore a simple white t-shirt and jean shorts, and a worn-out pair of sandals. Across his shoulder was a simple black backpack, and on his belt were six old, empty pokeballs which he had gotten from his brother. He tossed his long black pony tail over his shoulder as he turned around. "Good morning, Emily. What brings you here?" he spoke, with a casual grin.
Emily giggled. "You know plain well what I'm doing here, Kiai. I'm going to be one of the three chosen to get my very first pokemon." She closed her eyes. "It's just going to be so much fun! I can just imagine it." She pulled her hands up against her cheek and blushed a little. She was obviously fantasizing what she was planning. This, however, was something Kiai dealt with all the time with her.
"Well…" said Kiai, and Emily knew what was coming before he even continued. His level-headedness often clashed with her outgoing personality. "…you and I won't be the only candidates. There are a lot of talented people here." He gave her a very adult look, a strange thing coming from someone only one year older than her. As Emily rolled her eyes and turned away, Kiai gazed back upon the sun, and the tone in his voice slipped a little. "Of course, if only one of us is chosen…"
Emily looked down, almost sad at the thought. "If only one of us is chosen...then one would go, leaving the other behind..." While Kiai was her rival, he was also her friend, and Emily had no desire to lose that just because only one of them was chosen. "Maybe...if only one of us is chosen...we can still go together?" she asked, but she didn't look up.
Kiai smiled. "If you're chosen, I'm kicking your ass out. If I'm chosen…I'm staying here until you get picked." He walked over to Emily, and she looked up at him. He smiled at her, and spoke, "It's just going to be so much fun."
Emily smiled. "You're such a nice person, Kiai." She turned and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. The two were nothing more then friends, though the way Emily acted one might think otherwise. Still, it was how Emily acted, and Kiai was somewhat used to it, having her act this way their whole lives that they had known each other. However, sometimes he still got a little nervous when she randomly hugged him, and almost always did when she tried to snuggle against him, as she now seemed to be doing.
Kiai never was positive where his relationship with Emily was going, but he knew that they would be together forever. Despite being nervous, he knew what this day could mean for them. He wrapped his arms around his friend, and held her tight. The thought that they could be separated today was something he had, up until that point, managed to ignore. But now, his heart ached.
Emily continued to snuggle herself against Kiai. Tears were now forming in her eyes. The thought of being separated from him was something she didn't want. She wanted to stay with him, no matter what. She was, however, only able to snuggle a moment more before the door to Oak's lab opened and his assistant walked out. He had his eyes closed, a happy look on his face.
"Hello, everyone," the assistant spoke. "Professor Oak is waiting inside for the three people who will be picked as Pokemon trainers today." Emily looked up and quickly broke from the hug. She quickly wiped her eyes and switched to a rather nervous emotion now. Her mind was racing with multiple possibilities, but only one of them was what she hoped would come to pass.
Kiai looked around. The sun was shining and the birds were singing, but other than that, it was complete stillness. "Three people?" he spoke, "but there are only two of us. Where's everyone else?"
The assistant walked forward, and now actually opened his eyes, as he had been, somehow, walking without his eyes open. He blinked at the sight of only two wanna-be trainers. He had the same question Kiai had. "Where is everyone?" He looked at Kiai and Emily, then sighed. "Well, since you're both here. You two might as well come in. We'll wait a bit to see if anyone else shows up before we announce you two as trainers...but others should have been here by now." The assistant turned away from them. "Come with me, you two."
Kiai nodded toward Emily. "After you." he spoke. They followed the assistant up to the lab, where they were led into a large waiting room. There were pokemon shaped cookies and a pitcher of milk on the table, which Emily immediately began helping herself to. Kiai sat down on a large, fluffy chair and closed his eyes, again forgetting how Emily enjoyed taking advantage of him while he meditated.
"Hey, Kiai," Emily spoke, turning around to look at him. One cookie lied in her hand, a glass of milk in her other hand, and a second cookie hung from her mouth. She blinked a little, seeing Kiai was meditating. She grabbed the cookie out of her mouth using her hand that held the other cookie. "Figures..." she spoke to herself in a low voice. She set her cookies and milk down, then walked over to Kiai. She first poked him in the head a couple times, but that did nothing, as it never did. She then sighed and walked next to him. She poked him a couple more times, then thought for a moment, wondering what to do.
From somewhere else in the lab, a door opened and the sounds of chatter filled the area. Kiai's eyes darted open, and he stood up so quick Emily fell backwards into a chair, giving an "oof!" Kiai had recognized one of the voices at once. The voice he never wanted to hear again, but knew he would never get away from it. Alex had come. The pretentious prick who had been making life a living hell for almost as long as Kiai and Emily had been together had come to make himself a Pokemon trainer.
Emily blinked a little at Kiai. She had only seen Kiai with the look on his face at certain times, and each one involved Alex. She stood to her feet, her face changing to an almost angry look. She heard Alex's voice, and knew he was coming. "Why does HE want to become a trainer?" she asked, stomping her foot, and placing her hands on her hips. "He'd be no good at it. He'd just treat his Pokemon badly...He's nothing but a big bully, and that's all he'll be to his pokemon." It only took a moment more, though, before Alex entered the lab, looking at Emily. She could now tell he had heard her, but she didn't care.
Alex approached Emily, the young boys and girls who followed him (and who had also come to try their luck) had gone silent. "Care to repeat that, little girl?"
Kiai pushed Emily back onto the chair and she once again gave an "oof." Kiai then stood between her and Alex. No sooner had he, though, then the lab assistant came into the room. Emily quickly stood to her feet and straightened out her halter top and miniskirt as to look presentable.
"Ah ha! I see we're all here," the assistant spoke. "Come, Professor Oak will see you now."
The assistant turned, and Kiai spat a whispered "She's right, you know" at Alex, before they all walked out of the room to meet their destiny.
Emily walked right up to Kiai, now walking in perfect step with him to stay right next to him. "I hate him," she whispered to Kiai.
Kiai whispered back, "You know those moments where everything falls into place?" Emily gave him a confused look, but he didn't look back. Something in his gut told him that he was getting on the ride of his life. The assistant took them down a long, wide hall, then through a set of swinging double doors. Inside was Professor Oak, standing next to a table, and on it were three pokeballs and three pokedexes.
As they crowded into the room, Oak spoke up, "Gather 'round here, children! The moment has finally come! You've all trained and studied hard for this, but only three of you will be chosen. Are you all ready?! Good!" Oaks eyes twinkled as he looked over the small crowd of eager, young faces. "I'm sure you all know how it goes. Inside these pokeballs are either a Squirtle, Charmander, or Bulbasaur. As I call your name, come up and select one, and a pokedex. First...Alex Shibata!" The younger children cheered and whooped, as Alex smugly walked up and snatched the center pokeball, holding it triumphantly over his head.
Emily stared. She growled a little. "Of course...he's the most rotten bully around, and he gets first choice...ten bucks he abuses the poor Pokemon..." she grumbled. There were a couple of children she heard shout "Boo!" to their disappointment that he got picked, and she couldn't resist the urge. "Boo!" she shouted as well, then folded her arms. "Rotten kid..." she mumbled. "Guess this is where we find out who goes and who stays, huh?" she looked to Kiai.
Kiai looked back at her. "I guess it is." Memories from last year still haunted him, when he was one of only four candidates, and he knew he was better than the rest, yet he was singled out as being not chosen. He didn't have much time to reminisce, as Professor Oak raised his hands to calm the children, and continued.
"Next," Oak began, "will Emily Yamaki please step forward!" Oak had barely gotten the name out when Alex shouted "Boo!", but it was drowned out by Kiai screaming "Yes!!" and clapping loudly.
Emily blushed. "Me?" she asked. She then turned to Kiai. "I did it!" she shouted and hugged him. "If I can make it, then you can too." She giggled. "I'll see you when they call your name." She turned and headed up. She looked the two pokeballs over, examining each closely. She seemed as if she was very particular about which she picked. Finally, after what probably felt like hours to the others, but was actually only a minute or so, she grabbed one, smiling. She then walked up to where Alex was, giving him a scowl. "You abuse that Pokemon, and you're in deep shit."
Professor Oak applauded respectfully, and when the clatter died down, he prepared himself for the final name. Everyone in the room was on pins and needles; some of the younger ones had even stopped breathing. Oak grinned, then shouted out, "Michelle Maybelle!" A high shriek pierced the crowd, and a small blond girl ran forward, excitingly grabbing the remaining pokeball, and knocking the pokedex off the table in the process. She quickly picked it up and ran back to her friends.
Everything seemed to go strangely silent in Kiai's ears. By the time he was brought to his senses, a very old-looking Professor Oak was looking down at him, his hand on Kiai's shoulder. Kiai looked around, and saw that they were alone in the room. "Where is everyone?" Kiai asked.
Oak replied, "The three have gone for their instructions, and the rest have gone home."
Kiai's eyes fell, and he tried to tell his body to leave, but his legs wouldn't move. "I suppose I should go home too..." he spoke, but he felt Professor Oak's grip tighten on his shoulder. He looked up again, and Oak smiled warmly down at him.
"I want you to know why you were not part of the three." Oak spoke. "Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and Charmander are chosen so that the three selected trainers will always be stronger than one other, but weaker than one other. Thusly, neither one will be able to boast to the other, until they've learned the hardships of training."
Oak got down on one knee and looked up at Kiai. "You already know those hardships. And you have a greater task than becoming a Pokemon Master. You need a pokemon better suited to your destiny, one that will be loyal to you, and as determined to protect your friends as you are." Oak reached into his lab coat and pulled out a pokeball, which he placed into Kiai's hands. "Come, the other three are waiting." He led Kiai down the hall, into another room, where the Assistant was showing Alex, Emily, and Michelle how to use their pokedexes.
Emily turned for a moment, her eyes coming in contact with Kiai. At that moment, it was as if the world around her ceased to be, as she no longer cared about what the assistant was saying. She rushed to Kiai and hugged him tight. She didn't want to let go of him. She hadn't noticed the pokeball in his hand, and thought he would still be sad about not being picked twice in a row now. "I'm sorry, Kiai. I'll stay with you until you get picked," she spoke. "I won't leave you."
Kiai wrapped his arms around her and held her very tight. At first, he was in a dream, knowing now that Oak had been planning this day for some years, but with Emily in his arms, he suddenly realized what it meant. He was finally going to be going on the journey of a lifetime, with a friend of a lifetime. He whispered softly into her ear, "I made it."
Emily's eyes went wide. "Wait a minute..." she looked at Kiai. "You made it and didn't say anything? I hugged you and was sad for you for nothing?" She bonked him on the head with her fist. It wasn't hard, just enough so that he would know she was upset, but not enough to really hurt him. "You better say something next time." She then smiled and hugged him. "I'm so happy."
Kiai stared blankly off into nothingness as Emily hugged him. If there was ever a girl who defied his expectations, it was Emily. Professor Oak coughed loudly, and the two parted. Kiai looked at Oak, but his eyes met Alex, who had decided to stage an intervention. "Breaking the rules again, Oak?" said Alex. "You know you're only supposed to pick three."
Oak smiled, "Surely, Alex, you aren't threatened by Kiai being included?"
Alex scoffed, "Hah! I could beat him with one hand tied behind my back."
Oak clapped his hands and laughed, "Splendid idea! I just so happen to have some rope right here!" He reached into his lab coat and miraculously pulled out a length of rope. Alex said nothing, simply turning and burying his nose into his pokedex.
Emily giggled a little at Oak and Alex, then pulled her pokedex back out. She touched a couple buttons, then put it away, being pleased. "So, what did you get, huh? I want to know so bad! Is it a Pikachu like the Professor gave Ash for his first Pokemon? Oh, that would just be so cute!" She was now babbling on and on...During her non-sensical babbling, however, she had managed to grab her pokeball and toss it in the air. It hit the ceiling, bounced off, hit one of the nearby computers, bounced off and hit the ground, where it proceeded to shake for a moment. There was then a blinding flash of light as the pokeball seemed to "explode". A small Squirtle appeared from the smoke as the, now broken, pokeball rolled aside, falling into three or four pieces.
"Squirtle!" the Squirtle shouted and shook. He seemed unhappy.
"Oops," was all Emily had to say.
Alex, suddenly curious as to what he had received, called his pokemon out. A stout, strong-looking Bulbasaur appeared, to which Alex shouted "Hah!" at Emily.
Michelle began hopping up and down, repeating "I got Charmander! I got Charmander!"
Kiai looked down at the pokeball in his hand. What could Oak have given him that would serve as a loyal companion? He called out the pokemon, and a very, very small Rattata appeared. Michelle's squeals of delight were easily drowned out by Alex's riotous laughter. "Rattata?! That's not even worth catching, let alone keeping as your primary! What a loser!" Kiai shot Alex a hard glare, then heard a hiss from somewhere below him. Rattata was standing alert, his hair on end, hissing at Alex. Kiai smiled, and knelt down, offering his hand. Rattata hopped on, and scrambled up to Kiai's shoulder, where it sat still and proud, despite being so small.
Emily watched the scene unfold before her. After a moment she stepped closer to Kiai and pet the Rattata gently. "I think it's cute, unlike SOMEONE's pokemon." She seemed to give an odd glare at the Bulbasaur. "You see, I studied how Professor Oak would be giving out the pokemon. Each of the pokeballs has a tiny little symbol on it to tell you what is in it. At first I didn't see the water symbol on mine, but after looking carefully I did. Once I knew Squirtle was around, I took it." She grinned. "All that to say, my pokemon, Squirtle, is just so cute!" she then began to make, yet more, non-sensical babbling about how she thought Squirtle was cute. This was, however, interrupted when Squirtle shot Emily with his Water Gun. "What was that for?" she shouted.
Squirtle folded his arms. "Squirtle squirt," the Squirtle responded and Emily grumbled.
Kiai chuckled, until silenced by a warning glance from Emily. Professor Oak clapped his hands once, loudly, and everyone turned toward him. "Very good. You all have your pokemon and your pokedex," Professor Oak began. "Now you begin your journeys, hopefully all of you will become Pokemon Masters. You will all take very different paths from this point on, but I am confident that each of you will find what it is you're looking for." He paused, and looked at the four children looking back at him. "I'm very proud of all of you. Now, say your goodbyes to your families and friends. This afternoon will be the sendoff party, but you're free to leave early if you wish. Good luck, Alex, Michelle, Emily, and Kiai."