"Ritchie sends out Pikachu to battle Charizard!" The TV hissed the cries and applause of the crowd at the Pokemon League. A large red dragon with a flaming tail tip and red horns stared down a small yellow mouse with black stripes and a lightning bolt shaped tail. "Will this become a Pikachu barbeque?"

"It'll be an interesting match, at least," a young boy with dark hair and

bright blue eyes leaned back in the leather sofa. He grinned and rested his head back in his hands. His well fitted mareep skin and wool clothes clung to his slender figure.

"Interesting?" An older woman, his mother, stood close to the TV waving her arms frantically. She also had dark hair. Her fierce green eyes could pierce the screen if she wanted them to. "Andy, charizard will destroy Pikachu! This isn't a battle, it's a massacre!"

"Not necessarily," Dad butted in from his lounge chair. Dad was a big man

with light hair and pale blue eyes. His chest bulged like rippling barrels with his arms sprouting from it like oak trees. His green plaid wool shirt constantly strained against his muscular frame. Andy chuckled as he spotted another hole under Dad's arm that mom would have to stitch up again. "It's not always about size, honey bun."

"Right," Andy continued. "Also, Pikachu has type advantage, since charizard is a flying type as well as fire type. Pikachu is an electric type. Don't forget, Ritchie has already proven to be a great trainer, too. As long as Charizard doesn't land a physical attack, Pikachu could easily win this. Pikachu has speed and special attack over it."

Mom's gaze never left the TV screen. Was she even listening? She was going to bore a hole in the TV if she kept staring like that.

Andy yawned and watched the battle. Ritchie's Pikachu panicked as charizard stomped and flapped its wings. Pikachu tumbled away from the whirlwind attack, but before it coult mount a counter attack, charizard laid down and started napping in the arena. Ash fell to his knees begging his lazy charizard to continue the fight.

"Well, that was dumb," Andy remarked.

"What happened?" Mom was incredulous. "The battle was over before it even began," Andy replied. "What kind of an idiot would choose a pokemon that won't listen to him?"

"No, Ash!" Mom threw a tantrum, stomping and pulling her hair before calming down and falling to the sofa in a huff. She immediately brushed her long hair back in place and composed herself. "Well, shoot. I was so sure Ash would win."

Andy yawned, ignoring the commercials on TV following Ash's defeat. "I think that's the last battle tonight. I can't wait to start training my own pokemon. Someday, I'll make it to the Indigo league!"

Andy dreamed of becoming a pokemon master. Ever since he was a toddler first learning to read, he'd study books or internet sites about the behaviors and habits of pokemon. He watched countless videos on the internet about strategy and battles between pokemon. Sometimes, while herding mareep, he'd stare out into the orchard and imagine a gym where he'd battle his buneary or mareep against powerful opponents. However, as much as he dreamed of becoming a trainer, his parents refused to let him leave and chase his dreams.

"Now Andy," Dad sighed. "Please listen to me. You know that's not possible. We need you here to take care of the mareep and the berry orchard."

"But Dad!" Andy protested. He felt his heart racing knowing this would

become just another argument that ended with his parents telling him it was impossible for him to leave.

"No buts!" Mom scolded Andy and crossed her arms. Her gaze could reduce a

grown man to nothing but cinders. "You listen to your father!"

"But you have a hundred guys working for you on the orchard," Andy

complained. "Any one of them could be trained to take care of the mareep.

They're so simple..."

"No, Andy," Dad sighed. "The mareep know you better. They're more calm when you're around."

"Besides," Mom interjected. "You're too young to go off adventuring. It's

too dangerous."

"Mom, I'm fifteen." And stood and stared down indignant. His long dark bangs hid tears of disappointment. He couldn't bear to be denied again. They'd had this argument almost every day for the last month, and it hurt more each time. "Ash and Ritchie are only ten, and they've already made it to the pokemon league. I'm so far behind!"

"The answer is no, Andy," Mom ordered. "That's final. We are not discussing this again." She was even scarier when she spoke calmly, like the silence before a storm.

"Fine." Andy turned and bolted for the stairs leading up to the bedrooms.

"Andy!" Dad called after him, but Andy wasn't going to listen anymore if

they wouldn't.

"Zoey," Dad sighed and scratched at his scruffy chin and sat back down on

The couch. "Why are we so hard on him?"

Mom scooted over on the sofa into Dad's open arms to snuggle against him. "I just can't imagine my baby running around in the wilderness. It's so

dangerous. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to him."

Dad hummed a short tune and combed her hair back with his thick fingers. "I remember a certain girl who was fearless and ferocious in the face of

danger. A girl who mocked overprotective mothers..."

"Robert..."

"She was a stubborn trainer who never let anything get in her way. She had a dream, and she wouldn't give up until her dreams and the dreams of all those around here were fulfilled."

"Robert, we're talking about our son, now."

"Oh, so since he's our son his dreams are less important than his

protection?"

Mom stood up suddenly and stared incredulously at Dad. "Of course not,

but... Robert, he's my baby. I can't lose him. Maybe we can just convince him to be interested in other things..."

"Zoey," Dad smiled and sighed as he stood to hold her close. He gazed into her fierce green eyes. "He's borderline obsessed with pokemon, dearest. Ever since he was an infant he's studied pokemon with a passion similar to your own when you were his age."

"Yes, and look where that got me in the end of it all."

"You have a beautiful home, a beautiful family, and a rich farm of berries and mareep that more than makes enough money for us."

"You know what I mean," Mom planted her face in Dad's chest and whimpered.

"I think it's time we let our son out of the nest. It's time he experienced the world the way a man is meant to."

"But," Mom struggled to find something, anything, any argument that would

Keep her baby safe at home. "What about the mareep? You said..."

"Mareep are simple critters," Dad said. "We'll train Joe and Blair to look after them while Andy's gone. In a couple weeks, they'll be experts and then Andy can go off on his own."

"But my baby..."

"We can't keep him here forever, Zoey. Frankly, I'm surprised he hasn't run away yet. He does take after his mother, after all." Dad laughed and hugged mom close.

"I don't like it," Mom complained.

Dad let her go and places his giant hands on her shoulders. "I don't either, but he'll be fine. He's our son. He's smart and tough, just like his mother."

Mom smiled and held one of Dad's arms in both of hers. "And he's a kind and compassionate like his father... Alright, we'll tell him tomorrow."

"That's my girl," Dad smiled and kissed her lovingly.

Andy trudged into his room and flopped onto his bed. Why wouldn't they ever listen to him? As long as he could remember, he'd planned to search the globe for pokemon and train them better than anyone else in the world. His pillow was already soaked with his tears. He felt a warm fuzzy nudge against his neck. He turned over to see buneary looking concerned.

"Eeary...?"

"Hey Bounce," Andy managed before sitting up. He picked up his adorable

brown rabbit with long slender ears and white fluff from the waist down. He cradled the small creature in his arms and scratched behind its ears. "Sorry, buddy. I'm just sick of being stuck here. Mom and Dad just won't listen to me. What about what I want? It's not fair!"

"Buneary! Neary eary..." Buneary's voice was high pitched and almost shrill, yet adorable. Buneary's cute nature always managed to cheer Andy up. Andy admittedly had a weakness for cute things, especially cute pokemon.

"You're right, Bounce," Andy sighed and wiped his wet eyes. "I shouldn't get so worked up over it. I mean, they're just trying to keep me safe, right? I just wish they could see it from my perspective."

"Neary!" Buneary gave Andy a warm hug to his neck.

"I guess I can't really fault them for that," Andy continued. He laid down on his back, resting his head on his folded arms. Buneary curled up on his chest.

"I'll just have to run away."

"Neary?" Buneary got up and bounced up and down on his chest in protest.

"Buneary! Neary eeeear!"

"It's the only way," Andy remained calm and smiled warmly at buneary.

Buneary flailed his arms and rolled up both ears against his skull.

"Buneary?"

"Tonight," Andy said. "As soon as Mom and Dad go to bed, we'll get packed up and head south for the mountains toward Pewter City."

"Buneeeeeary..." Buneary curled up on Andy's chest again and shivered uncontrollably.

"Shhh," Andy shushed buneary gently and pet him. He listened to Dad's laughter downstairs and sighed. "They should be going to bed soon. It's pretty late." "Buneeeary."

"Hey, come on," Andy consoled his timid friend. "We've been training for a long time, Bounce. You're pretty strong, you know. We'll be alright."

"Bun... eary..."

"Think of all the friends we'll make," Andy scratched behind buneary's ears. Buneary looked up and stopped shivering so much.

"Neary?"

"Oh yes. I'll catch a bunch of friends for you, and then we'll train real

hard! Then, everyone will be afraid of us! We'll be so strong, nobody will mess with us."

"Buneary?"

"And the food! So many carrots and potatoes and roots! All the tasty herbs along the way! I'll be able to mix all kinds of fun stuff in your poke-chow. I'll make it real good!"

"Eary!" Buneary seemed so excited now he was practically bouncing with glee.

"Good boy," Andy sat up and hugged his friend. He sat still as he heard the sound of footsteps up the creaky staircase. "Sounds like they're going to bed, now. We'll get ready in about half an hour, ok?"

Andy sat cross-legged in the attic next to a wooden chest straight out of a fantasy game of pirates and buried treasure. Against it Andy leaned his red backpack bulging with supplies, such as food, silverware, clothes, matches, and other survival gear. He opened the chest. It creaked loudly making Buneary shudder with fright.

"Don't worry, Bounce," Andy reassured him. "This is just Mom's old training gear. I found it a while back when I was playing up here."

"Neary?" Buneary hid behind Andy as it stared at the suspicious box.

"You silly rabbit," Andy petted Buneary's head and picked him up so he could see inside. "Go ahead. Have a look."

"Neary?" Buneary peered over the edge of the box. Inside was a pile of old clothes Mom might still fit into, some trophies from various pokemon tournaments and contests, a small pink wool sack, and a photo album. Andy

opened the sack and grinned.

"Alright," Andy whispered excitedly. "Pokeballs... and a belt." Andy

Strapped the belt around his waist and sat up on his knees. "What do you think? Fancy, huh?" He rummaged through the sack and pulled out a strange sphere that was red on one half and white on the other. It had a black button between the division of colors. "This is awesome. These will definitely come in handy."

Buneary hopped into the chest and started flipping through the photo album.

He stopped at a picture of Mom and Dad when they were younger. Mom was holding an Orange League trophy. There was another man in the picture standing next to her. He had graying brown hair, thick bushy eyebrows, and a long white coat.

"Bun? Eary?" Buneary placed a paw on the picture and looked up at Andy.

"Oh, wow," Andy picked up Buneary and the photo album. "Mom looks so young in this picture, huh? She used to be a pretty amazing trainer back in the day, apparently. She never talks about it, though, other than when she talks about how she met Dad at the Orange league. I wonder what happened. I mean, being a pokemon trainer and winning all kinds of trophies seems like a pretty big deal to just forget about it."

Buneary pointed at the man in the white coat. "Eary?"

"Oh him?" Andy took a closer look. "I'm not sure, but I think that's

Professor Oak. He's pretty famous. He knows all about pokemon, and he likes to give special starter pokemon to new trainers. He also gives new trainers a pokedex. Oh! That reminds me!"

Andy set Buneary and the photo album down and started rummaging through the chest again. He found Mom's box of old badges and set those aside. He'd be earning plenty of his own badges soon. "Where is it?"

"Eary?"

"Mom's old pokedex," Andy replied. "It should be in here somewhere, but I

can't find it."

Andy sat back and sighed. It wasn't there. Maybe she had to turn it in to

Professor Oak when she gave up being a trainer. "I guess we'll have to visit Professor Oak in Pallet Town and ask for one."

"Eary eary?"

"Oh right." Andy pulled out some potions and antidotes from the box and

started shoving them into his pack with the pokeballs. "A pokedex is a

device that tells you information about specific pokemon, like a pokemon index. It also records which ones you've seen and caught. It's really useful, and it holds I.D. information about the trainer, too. Other than badges, it's the mark of a pokemon trainer."

Andy placed some empty pokeballs on his belt and shouldered his backpack. It was heavy, but he knew he'd get used to it. "Time to go, Bounce."

Andy shoved the rest of Mom's old gear into the box and shut it tight before sneaking down the ladder. He held out his arms for Buneary. Surprisingly, Buneary didn't need any convincing to jump down. Then again, a bouncy pokemon like Buneary shouldn't be afraid of heights. Andy pushed the ladder and attic door back into place. He crept down the stairs and out the door into the cold night.

It was dark outside, or at least more than usual. Thick clouds hid the stars and moon, so Andy had to use a flashlight to guide himself through the backyard and up the hill toward the mountains. At the top of the first hill, Andy turned to look back at his home. To the North and West were the acres and acres of berry trees with cherry picker tractors interspersed for harvest.

To the east was the pasture and barns for mareep. Most of them were asleep in the barns, but some liked to sleep outside. One stood staring up at the dark sky.

Andy turned again and stared at the rocky path ahead. Dad used this

Particular route to hike to Pewter City to meet with the company representatives he supplied with berries or wool. They had to use helicopters to pick up the supplies, but they were working on a road that they could use for trucks instead. Helicopters were expensive, so Dad wasn't able to get as much money for his produce, but they still made plenty to live on.

Looking up, Andy stared defiantly at the mountains ahead. They loomed over him like sleeping giants. He shuffled his pack on his shoulders and tightened the straps. "Well Bounce, this is it. This is the last time we'll see home for a long time." He knelt down next to his shivering pokemon and scratched between its curled up ears. "Let's go have an adventure."

Andy stood and pushed the button on Buneary's pokeball. A red light poured out of it and engulfed his pokemon. Buneary vanished with the red light into the ball. Andy clicked it into place on his belt before taking his first step toward destiny.