Pokémon: Adventures in High School - New England Dreams

by Ds Freak9900

Two years go by, and a new journey is about to begin. Much like going to school, the new Trainers in town have a lot to learn, which will take them farther than some may have thought. With a new journey, comes a new planetary threat that will need to be stopped. It's no wonder many say people have many journeys throughout high school.

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Use Dragon Claw!" A mysterious woman called out. Out of nowhere, a huge pink Pokémon came out of nowhere and it looked like it was gonna lunge right at me. But somehow, I knew what I was doing.

"Dodge it quick! And use Close Combat!" I yelled. Then another Pokémon, this one looking like an ape, and had a huge flame coming out of the top of its head, ran toward the pink Pokémon after avoiding its attack. Then it started throwing powerful punches and kicks which seemed to have dealt some massive damage. While it looked cool, where the hell am I? And why am I in a Pokémon battle with this woman?

My vision started to go white unexpectedly, and a few seconds later, I was in a completely different location. No action at all, but rather calm, it was dark out, and lights everywhere you can imagine. It actually looked pretty from what I could tell. But there were still Pokémon there, just being used in a different way. I felt so warm and comfortable though…

I looked around, seeing that I was actually riding a horse Pokémon with flames as its mane, which were not burning me to death surprisingly, and would explain why I felt warm. Why am I riding this Pokémon though? And when I looked to my right, there was a girl next to me, also riding a Pokémon of the same species. Then we smiled at each other and I saw her blushing. Who is this girl? How or why did I even get here? I don't know. I have so many questions right now…

Then my vision went white again, and everything went black shortly after. I quickly opened my eyes and rose from my bed with a huge gasp coming out of me, still panting and my heart racing. "Oh," I thought. "It was just a dream."

But I somehow still get jumpscared yet again, this time by my own phone's alarm. Seems I woke up a minute before I was supposed to get up. That never happens. "Dammit," I said under my breath as I reached for my phone to dismiss the alarm. Usually I never set my alarm for much of anything, unless the next day had something big going on to the point where I had to get up early. I'm not an early bird at all, if you couldn't already tell; I hated getting up early. No matter what the reason was.

Walking upstairs from my bedroom into the kitchen, after getting out of my pajamas and putting on some other clothes, I could already smell the fresh aroma coming from the food my dad was cooking for breakfast. I can already tell he was making French toast with bacon and sausage. It sucks that I can't smell it from my bedroom downstairs in the basement; Would've been nice to have that aroma fill up the room every morning. Know what I mean? I'm pretty sure I made you hungry or even craving that right about now.

"Morning Ian!" My dad Cole yelled as he heard me walk into the kitchen, still cooking breakfast.

"Morning," I said as I was yawning and stretching.

"You seem to have slept well," He said. "You hungry?" He then asked.

"Very," I quickly responded. "Though I didn't sleep as well as I hoped," I added.

"Well you better be in a good mood before we get outta here," Dad told me rather bluntly. "You do know what today is, don't you?" He asked firmly.

"What?" I asked, completely clueless, thinking that he's acting stupid. "It's Wednesday. What else would it be?" I snapped.

Dad quickly sighed, either due to me snapping at him, or that he didn't get the answer he'd hoped. "Don't tell me you forgot that you're getting your first Pokémon today?!" He then responded.

"Oh!" I responded myself. "I almost forgot!" I added. "Whoops."

Dad couldn't help himself but chuckle a bit, possibly trying to make me look like a dumbass in the process. "That's okay," He said. "You just woke up, and not fully functioning yet. Plus you're getting miserable already because you didn't have anything to eat yet," He said.

"Well you don't say?" I said sarcastically. I really wasn't in the mood for his jokes this morning due to me getting a lack of sleep, but a nice meal will fix that soon. I hope.

"I deserved that."

"Very much so."

Dad looked back at me with no response. Possibly twitching his eye or giving me a death stare, but I wasn't paying attention as I was already glued to my phone. You probably already know what most high school students have and do on their smartphones nowadays, so I won't go into detail of what I was doing.

My time on my phone got cut short as Dad told me that breakfast was ready. I was more than ready to devour all the food he puts on my plate. I'm hungry. And when I am, I make it well-known.

"There you go!" He said as he was putting my plate on the table. "Want something to drink?" He then asked.

"I'll get it myself," I responded as I got up from my chair, to my despair. But I'm no child. I'm eighteen years old for crying out loud! I don't need my dad to get me a glass of milk when I can just do it myself! Ok, maybe when I'm lazy, but you know what I mean.

After we got our drinks of choice, we sat down and immediately started eating, and I was in it in no time flat. This, and cinnamon rolls are breakfast meals that you don't wanna interrupt me on. Just saying.

"Are you even tasting it?!" Dad asked jokingly. I eat somewhat fast, yet he still makes this damn joke all the time, regardless of what I'm eating. This is considered "normal" for me though! Everyone eats at their own pace, so why can't I?! Jeez. If I had a dollar for everytime my dad asked me that, I'd be a freaking millionaire.

"Are you actually surprised?" I asked sarcastically yet again, still with my mouth somewhat full.

"No," He responded. "But you eat so goddamn fast! Why don't you slow down and take your time?!"

"Dad," I said after I swallowed. "This is normal for me. There are people that eat way faster than me. You eat reasonably quick as well."

I saw Dad snap his fingers as he was swallowing his food. "Point taken," He responded.

I couldn't help but chuckle myself. He and I like to joke every now and then, but he hasn't been home for most of the day ever since he got his new job at a Connecticut local news station. As for Mom, she launched her new company in Long Island, so we had no choice but to move here from Sunyshore City in Sinnoh. Well, there was another reason for this, but we'll not go into that. I rarely get to see her, as she stays onsite overnight sometimes. Make that a lot of the time actually. She comes home for a week every month then goes back to work, but we do visit her from time to time. But she never talks about what exactly happens at the place for some reason. Makes me worried a lot of the time.

About a half an hour later, Dad and I were ready to head out so we can go meet the Pokémon Professor at the high school. I'll admit, I'm actually really excited. Becoming a Pokémon Trainer sounds exciting after all. And I already knew which Pokémon I was getting as well.

"Wanna drive?" Dad asked as we were approaching his car.

"Nah," I responded. "I'm still not fully awake yet."

"All right," He responded. "Let's get this show on the road!" He then said as he was getting in the car. I simply sighed as I'm sure he tried to make a bad pun. Then I got in the car myself.

We arrived at the high school with plenty of time to spare. Actually, the high school and middle school share the same building, so the building itself looks absolutely massive. But each school are actually rather small, which may or may not be good. I just hope when school starts, I have a better experience than what I went through previously.

As we were walking to the entrance, which was quite the hike as the middle school entrance came first, we came across a young girl, who was about my size and looked my age with light brown hair just past her shoulders, walking with her father, who were walking right toward us.

"Good morning!" The girl said to both of us.

"Morning," Dad responded as the four of us came to a stop.

"What brings you here?" She asked. "School doesn't start for another week."

I quickly filled in before my dad even had time to respond. "We're here so I can get my first Pokémon!" I said with excitement.

"Ooh! That's exciting!" The girl then said. "I'm Jill by the way. This is my dad, Frank."

"I'm Ian," I responded. "Nice to meet you," I added, reaching my hand out to Jill to shake hers.

Jill happily took my hand and shook it with ease. "Same to you!" She said.

Then our fathers introduced themselves to each other. It was just what you expected. Though what Jill asked her father after caught all of us off guard.

"Hey Dad, can we stay until Ian comes out with his new Pokémon?" She desperately asked him.

Frank sighed and it seems he quickly gave in. "Of course we can. Incidentally we just got done seeing Professor Fir ourselves," He said.

"Oh did you?" Dad quickly asked. "How is he?"

"He's a really nice guy. I think you'll like him," Frank said.

"Plus he's a teacher here! So you can ask him questions regarding Pokémon training, class, or even both!" Jill added.

"That's nice to know," I said. "What classes does he teach?"

"He researches the effects of Trainer-Pokémon bonds," Jill responded. "He also does some classes with Professor Kukui as he used to be a Gym Leader."

"Gym Leader?" I asked.

"Yeah," Jill said. "Heard of them?"

"We have," Dad responded.

"We're originally from Sinnoh actually," I added.

"Oh," Jill responded. "Where in Sinnoh are you from?"

"Sunyshore City," I said.

"Nice," Jill responded. "How long have you guys been here?" She then asked.

"Jill, can you save the questions for later?!" Frank quickly asked, and rather irritated. "Ian has an appointment with Professor Fir, and I don't want to see him be late!"

"Sorry," Jill said apologetically, rubbing her hand on the back of her head, and blushed a little. I'm sensing something here from Jill, even though I just met her. She's cute though, I'll admit. She also seems pretty nice. Let's hope she stays that way.

"But we'll definitely be waiting for you," Frank said. "I am pretty curious on which Pokémon you end up choosing."

"I think everyone is curious about that," Dad said. "Come on Ian." Dad then started walking toward the main door.

"Coming!" I responded and ran a little to catch up.

"So we have a new student," Jill said. "Wasn't expecting that."

It didn't take that long to find Professor Fir's office, as I already knew my way around thanks to one of the office secretaries, who offered me a tour of the school last week. I better get comfy here quick, as this is gonna be my only year here since I'm gonna be a Senior. Shoot, I forgot to ask Jill if she's gonna be a Senior as well! From the looks of it, she does seem to be a Senior, but I don't wanna make any assumptions.

As we were approaching his door, which was left open, he saw us before we saw him. "Hey!" He shouted. "Come in! Glad you could make it!"

His office looked kinda trippy, but cool at the same time. I thought it was gonna be a lab to be honest, though those were upstairs. When I think of laboratories, I think chemical tubes all over the place, an eerie environment, everyone in protection gear from head to toe, and other things. But that wasn't the case with Professor Fir's lab, which seemed a lot simpler, almost closer to a traditional classroom. There were a few large machines scattered throughout the room, a large desk with chairs surrounding it (Possibly for his classes.), and a large open space near the right side of the room, with his desk being the only interruption. I heard that's common with the labs of other Pokémon Professors around the world, including Professor Rowan from Sinnoh. I kinda like it.

"Great to meet you both in person!" The Professor said. "I'm Professor Fir."

"Nice to meet you as well Professor," Dad responded. "My son Ian here has been looking forward to today!"

"I don't blame him!" Professor Fir responded. "All Trainers in the making look forward to that special day of finally meeting their partner, and setting off on their journey. So Ian, what do you plan to do with your Pokémon?" The Professor asked me.

"Well, I, I really don't know," I slightly hesitated, worrying about what he might say.

"That's okay," He responded. "Most Trainers these days are unsure about what they would want to do on their journey. But sometime down the line, they'll find what they were meant to accomplish; It's in their destiny," He said.

"In their destiny?" I asked. I was kinda following along with what he was saying, but the destiny thing caught me off guard.

"Right!" He quickly responded with much enthusiasm. "Not too many Pokémon Trainers know about their destiny though. But this thought erupted in my head after I had two particular Seniors a couple years back, who were also knew at the time, and put on quite the showing for us! You remind me of one of them, if I'm being honest with you."

"Really?" I asked. Do I really remind him of one of his past students? Who were these students? I kinda wanna know one of these days.

"Yeah," He said. "They're off at college now. I wonder how they're doing, 'cause they did go on a worldwide journey shortly after they graduated. Haven't heard from them since they got back."

"Oh that's too bad," I responded.

"Eh, I'm not worried about it," He said after a few seconds of silence. I guess they really did have a close relationship. "But that's enough about me! I'm going off topic! Sorry about that!" He said as he sweatdropped.

"It's fine!" I quickly responded. "Don't worry about it! We're in no rush!"

Professor Fir let out a pretty audible sigh after hearing me telling him that. "All right," He said. "So, Ian, ready for the moment of truth?"

I looked at Dad before looking back at the Professor with a determined look pressed firmly on my face. "Yes!" I exclaimed.

"Good!" Professor Fir responded. He went back to the other side of the room to grab a super large briefcase out of one of the large cabinets. Seriously, it's huge. Like the size of a freaking suitcase. But it didn't seem all that heavy as he was able to lift it onto the nearby table with ease, laying it down on its side.

"Inside of here, are all the twenty-one current Starter Pokémon from across the various regions." He said as he unlatched the latches holding the case shut. "Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, and Alola," He added as he lifted the lid.

I was nearly drooling from all of the Poké Balls in front of me. I want them all, but I can only have one! They all looked so cool and cute!

"On the left side, we have all of the Grass-Type Starters," The Professor said. "In the middle, we have Fire. And on the right, we have Water. You can only have one of these Pokémon. I know, tough choice, but we have to have it like that to keep it fair for everyone."

"Understandable," I responded as my eyes were looking all over the place, glancing at every Poké Ball. But I wasn't gonna waste ten minutes making up my decision, as I already knew who I was picking.

"So, do you know which Pokémon you want?" The Professor asked. "Or do you need a few minutes?"

"I don't need any time at all, as I already know who I want!" I firmly responded.

"That's wonderful!" The Professor responded. "Then go ahead and make your decision!"

I nodded as I reached my hand for one of the Poké Balls. The one in the very middle to be exact. Chimchar.

"So you're going with Chimchar?" Professor Fir asked. "The Fire-Type Starter from Sinnoh?"

"Yes I am!" I responded. "I've always wanted to go with Chimchar if I were to ever go on a journey through my former home region."

"Oh that's right, you two are from Sinnoh?" Professor Fir asked both of us.

"Well, there's also my wife as well," Dad responded. "But she's working a ton of hours after launching her own company, and she wasn't able to come see this today unfortunately."

"Oh." The Professor responded. "Sorry to hear about that."

"It's fine," Dad said. "We are still able to see her, which all that counts."

"I agree," The Professor said. "I remember not being able to see my family all the time when I was young, so I know what it's like. Anyway, why don't you call out Chimchar so you can introduce yourself?"

"That's a great idea!" I responded. "Chimchar, come on out!" I shouted as I tossed Chimchar's Poké Ball.

Out came the tiny chimp Pokémon that had a little flame acting as its tail. I've always found Chimchar to be pretty cute, and watching its final evolved form battle on TV when I was young fascinated me so much. I knew that I just had to pick this little guy; It'd be a crime for me not to.

"Chimchar!" It shouted as it jumped and landed on one foot while putting its arms in the air.

I chuckled at Chimchar's pose as I picked it up. "Hey there buddy! My name is Ian! Great to meet you!" I felt my smile get bigger as I grinned at Chimchar. My excitement is getting the best of me if you couldn't tell already.

Without any hesitation, Chimchar immediately hugged me, showing just as much excitement. We were meant to meet.

"Now Ian, it's time for me to hand you the necessities for being a Pokémon Trainer," Professor Fir said as he was walking to his desk. When he came back, he was holding a tray with a lot of things on it. "And here they are!"

"That looks like a lot," I said.

"It's not a lot actually," He responded. "Let's get the boring out of the way first." He added as he was handing me some kind of card. "Here is your Trainer ID. Pretty self-explanatory. A digital copy is also found in your Pokédex, which is right here," He said as he pointed to the largest item on the tray. "This is the very device that gives you the most up-to-date info on all of the current-existing Pokémon found throughout the world."

As Chimchar was adjusting itself on my shoulder, I went to pick up the Pokédex, which felt pretty light actually. I'm such a sucker for technology, so there's a good chance I'll get nerdy with it once I get to know it. Might I add that this thing looks like a smartphone. Complete with a dual camera setup on the back, most likely used for scanning Pokémon.

"And these right here, as you can easily guess, are your Poké Balls," The Professor continued. "Possibly the most useful item as you can possibly tell, as they're used for carrying your Pokémon around. Pretty self-explanatory as well, if I say so myself."

I thought for a second that the Poké Balls had a problem with them as they looked smaller than the one I just handled, but after Professor Fir demonstrated them for me, that little worry of mine quickly went away. Seems like they were made that way so they can easily carried without occupying so much space in a backpack or something like that.

"So Ian, any questions?" Professor Fir asked me.

"I think I'm all set," I responded. I felt pretty confident, but I know I can always count on him for any help that I might need. Having an experienced Trainer as one of my school teachers makes me feel a bit more comfortable now. Seriously.

"Well if you have any questions, you know you can always contact me," He said. "I'm always available to help."

"Thanks," I said. I already like this guy. He seems pretty damn cool.

"Well, I think it's time that we get outta here," Dad said. "I'm sure you have your own work to do, right Professor?"

"Yeah," Professor Fir responded. "School's starting in a week after all. By the way Ian, since you're here, let me see if you're in any of my classes." Professor Fir quickly walked over to his computer and checked his class lists. Gotta respect the guy for being a teacher and being a Pokémon Professor at the same time. Not too many people can multitask that efficiently. At least, that's what I think.

"Looks like I have you for the second semester," He said. "Seems I have you in Trainer-Pokémon Bonding." This school uses the semester cycle as well? At least there's something that I'm familiar with, though I need to look over my schedule so I don't go to the wrong class on the wrong day. Come on, I'm sure there's at least someone reading this story that has done that at least once in their life.

"Really?" I responded. "Nice."

"It sure is!" He responded. "So, I'll be seeing you next week!"

"Likewise Professor!" I said, shaking his hand.

A short while later, Dad and I were back outside, making our way back to Jill and Frank. As we were heading out, I put Chimchar back in its Poké Ball so that I can show them. Then once we got outside, I saw Jill holding a Pokémon of her own in her arms, which looked like a Chikorita.

"There you are!" Jill said as we were approaching her and her father. "We were starting to get a tad worried!"

"Despite me telling her that there was nothing to worry about," Frank added. "Hopefully everything went well with the Professor."

"Everything went fine!" Dad responded.

"That's awesome!" Jill said. "So, which Pokémon did you pick?"

"I'll show you!" I responded enthusiastically. "Chimchar, come on out!" I shouted as I tossed Chimchar's Poké Ball once again.

This time, Chimchar somehow landed on my shoulder, though I was kinda anticipating that at the same time, so I wasn't surprised.

"Oh wow! You went with Chimchar!" Jill said. "Hey! This gives me a chance to let you meet my partner! Chikorita!"

"Chika!" The little Grass Pokémon responded in such a high-pitched voice. It was so adorable as a result!

Both our Pokémon jumped off of us and landed on either shoulder. Chikorita felt pretty light, though it felt a tad heavier than Chimchar, but still more than manageable for the shoulder. It actually felt pretty soft against my neck as it rubbed itself against my head, even with the "collar" around its neck. I don't even know what to call that. Can't forget about the leaf on top of its head as well.

Seems Chimchar likes Jill as well, as it loved getting its back rubbed by her. Something's telling me that we're gonna get along very well if our Pokémon already like the other Trainer despite just meeting.

Soon our respective Pokémon went back to us after playing with each other while all of us talked for a bit.

But our departure wasn't gonna be so relaxed as a group of four Starly started circling overhead, with all of them swooping down at us one at a time for no reason.

"What's going on here?!" I asked while yelling. "We didn't do a thing to these Starly!"

"We heard something loud go off a minute before you two came out!" Frank said. "That must've caused these Starly to become scared and attack whoever it saw!"

"But why are they attacking now if it's been a few minutes?!" I asked. "That should've been an immediate reaction!"

"That's what we were thinking as well!" Jill added. "Maybe they haven't calmed down just yet!"

We had practically nowhere to hide. If we hid in the middle school entrance, as that was closer, then there would be a chance that the Starly would break the windows, so we didn't wanna take a chance. That leaves us with no choice: We'll have to battle them if they don't stop.

"Can we do anything?!" Dad asked.

"I think I got an idea," I responded.

"What do you have?" Dad then asked.

"I think we'll have to battle them," I responded. "They're not showing any signs of stopping. Plus I kinda wanna make a Starly my first catch."

"Are you crazy?!" Jill asked. "That's only gonna make it worse!"

"Well what else can we use to tell them that there's nothing to be scared about?!" I responded rather firmly. "If there's any Pokémon that can calm this group down is one of their own!"

"I get it," Frank said. "Then I'll help!"

"So will I, I guess," Jill said. "Chikorita, you'll have to go back in your Poké Ball for now."

Chikorita looked a bit worried, but still nodded at Jill as being a Grass Type, it'd be at a disadvantage. But what other Pokémon is Jill gonna use? I'm sure she has another Pokémon with her if she is making Chikorita go back in its Poké Ball, but I can still be concerned.

"All right Sunsil, here we go!" Jill shouted as she threw her Poké Ball. Sunsil? That supposed a nickname?

Apparently it was a nickname, as out came a greenish-yellow fox Pokémon that spit embers out of its mouth. I think that was a Vulpix, but it looks a bit different. The light that came out of its Poké Ball did sparkle when it landed on the ground after all, so that has some meaning to it. But that didn't matter at the moment.

"Time for some fun Pikachu!" Frank shouted as he threw his Poké Ball, and out came the namesake yellow mouse Pokémon. Everyone knows Pikachu after all, so it was immediately recognizable.

"Well Chimchar, time for our first battle!" I said to Chimchar.

Chimchar nodded to me with a determined look on its face, and it jumped off of my shoulder, ready for battle.

"Ian, you know the basics for catching Pokémon, right?" Jill asked with some concern.

"I do," I responded. "I have to battle the Pokémon until it gets weak enough before throwing any Poké Balls."

"Dead on!" Jill responded.

While that's great and all, but there was one more Starly we had to worry about. Though it looked like it has already calm down, but none of us were taking any chances here. Thankfully, Dad was also a Trainer as well, so he'll chip in if he has to.

"So let's see what moves you can use," I said to Chimchar as I was pulling my Pokédex out of my left pocket.

"Chimchar is able to use the following moves: Ember, Scratch, Flame Wheel, and Dig," The Pokédex told me. Flame Wheel? Dig? Right out of the gate? Talk about pure dumb luck.

"That's a good start!" I said. "So let's see what you're capable of! Use Scratch!"

Chimchar did exactly as I told it do do so, lunging at the tiny bird to scratch it with its claws.

Starly quickly recovered from Chimchar's attack, rushing toward Chimchar to strike it. That looked like a Tackle.

"Not a bad start at all!" I said. "Now use Ember!"

Chimchar went to shoot its attack out of its mouth, but quickly got struck by Starly from a Quick Attack. That didn't stop Chimchar from finally shooting Ember at Starly.

"Nice shot!" I shouted. "Use Flame Wheel!"

Chimchar proceeded to cover itself in a spinning wheel of fire, and started to run at Starly, but wasn't able to hit the bird, as Starly quickly flew high to avoid Chimchar's attack. Then it rushed back to Chimchar and hits it with its wings, most likely being a Wing Attack. What's with this Starly? Or is it my dumb luck again?

"Crap!" I shouted as I saw Starly fly up, avoiding Chimchar's attack and hitting it in the same turn.

"Don't give up Ian!" Dad said. "Just keep trying! You'll get it!"

I turned back to Dad and simply nodded at him. This was my first ever battle, and I don't want anyone to ruin it for me. I'm gonna have to learn anyway, so this is my first big leap as a Trainer. "Chimchar, give it another Flame Wheel!" I commanded.

The chimp nodded and did the same attack, this time hitting Starly pretty hard.

"Nice!" I shouted.

But Starly wasn't done yet. It rushed toward Chimchar once again, but no way is this gonna be a repeat. "Dodge it!" I shouted.

Chimchar did exactly what I said, and started running to the left, but Starly was on its tail. Not literally.

"Oh man!" I shouted. Chimchar can't run forever, so I had to think of something, and fast. I got an idea, though I'm not sure how well it'll work, but we'll try. "Chimchar, jump and use Ember!"

Chimchar looked back, but knew what I was saying. It did a backflip, jumping directly over Starly, and shooting Ember right at it. Bullseye. And Starly started to fall to the ground.

"Now would be a good chance Ian!" Dad shouted.

"Do it now!" Jill shouted.

"Got it!" I said. "Go Poké Ball!" I shouted as I threw the ball at Starly, bouncing off of Starly before opening.

Starly's body glowed red and deformed before going in the Poké Ball, then the ball closed and dropped to the ground before shaking three times and clicked. It simply stopped. Did I really just catch a Pokémon on the first try? It seemed too good to be true.

"You did it Ian!" Jill said, holding Sunsil in her arms. "You got Starly!"

I felt speechless, but I actually caught my first Pokémon. That Poké Ball wasn't gonna come back to me by itself, so I walked to it and picked it up then looked back at the group.

"Go ahead!" Jill said. "Call it out!"

I nodded then tossed Starly's Poké Ball, calling it back out.

Out came the dark gray bird Pokémon, landing directly on one shoulder, while Chimchar climbed onto another.

"Welcome to the crew Starly!" I said to Starly.

Starly spread its wings and chirped in happiness, but I didn't catch Starly just for the sake of it being my first catch. That was part of the reason.

"Starly, can you let your group know that everything is calm now?" I asked it. "You know, just in case." After all, there was that fourth Starly, but it didn't attack at all during the three battles that were going on. So we seem to be fine as long as my Starly talks to the others.

The other three seemed to understand, and flew away. Thank Arceus for that. Now we can finally get outta here.

"Glad that's over," I said. Everyone else definitely agreed. "By the way. Jill, is that a Vulpix you're holding?"

"Yeah!" She responded. "A Shiny Vulpix to be exact!" She then proceeded to walk closer to me, putting Sunsil closer to me. "Go ahead! Pet it! It loves making new friends!"

I went ahead and did so, and reached my hand to pet the Vulpix on its head. Its fur felt as soft as a blanket and warm to the touch, making this an ideal Pokémon to snuggle with at night. At least, that's what I got from my first impressions after a few strokes. It was so adorable though! Then I got an idea: See what the Pokédex says about Vulpix.

"I kinda wanna what the Pokédex has to say about Vulpix," I said. After all, if I'm gonna meet a ton of Pokémon, it's time that I learn about them.

"Sure!" Jill responded. "I wanna see, too!"

With that said, I pulled my Pokédex out of my pocket again, and pointed it at Sunsil to let it scan for data. And voila.

"Vulpix - Kanto Form: The Fox Pokémon. A Fire Type," The Pokédex reads. "The six beautiful tails of Vulpix have made it very popular. Rumors say that if Trainers raise one when it's young, then it'll grow close to them like a puppy Pokémon." Grow close like a puppy Pokémon? That's the cutest thing I've heard all day! Now I want one of my own!

"Aww!" Jill cried. "That's why Sunsil is such an attention hogger! Aren't you?!" She asked her Vulpix in a high-pitched voice while petting its head.

"Vul!" The little fox Pokémon said. Just hearing it is too cute! I'm gonna die from cuteness before the day is over!

Frank suddenly checked his phone, possibly for the time, and realized he was late for something. "Jill, I'm sorry that we gotta cut this short, but we gotta go," He said. "I forgot my appointment is in ten minutes."

"Don't worry about it Dad," Jill quickly responded. "I can just walk home. Not that big a deal."

Frank simply sighed at her response. Seems she's done this quite a few times. Either she's really begging or he gives in a lot. "Just be careful, alright? I don't want to see you in trouble."

"I'll be fine!" Jill said. "Plus I can help Ian learn the ropes as well!" She added.

"Fair enough," Frank responded. "But if anything happens, call me right away."

"I will," She said.

With that, Frank walked off to his car and drove away. After what happened with those two, I think Dad is thinking I'm gonna pull off the same idea and walk with Jill.

"I suppose you're gonna do the same Ian?" Dad asked. Yep, right on the mark. Did I call it or what? Besides, I do wanna get to know Jill more after all. She is a very nice person.

"Might as well," I responded. "It is nice out today after all."

"Figured," Dad said. I swear, if he ships us already, I'm gonna scream. "I gotta get to work anyway. Be careful you two."

"We will!" The two of us responded simultaneously.

Dad chuckled as he walked off to his car himself, and drove off to work. That just leaves Jill and I. Alone. Neither of us said a word for a few seconds. Eventually one of us has to break the silence. But apparently we had the same question for each other.

"So, where do you live?" Jill asked first before I can speak.

"Edgewood Road," I responded. "You?"

"I live on the same street!" Jill happily responded. "You have a driveway that goes to the back of the house as well?"

"Yeah," I said.

"Oh my gosh! We're neighbors!"

"No way!"

At that point, we high-fived each other pretty hard. Even though it kinda hurt, it felt satisfying to both of us. I forgot how satisfying it was to high five one of your own friends. I used to a lot before everything went downhill for me. But anyway, we both laughed at the pain of that high five.

"So, ready to go?" I asked. I was trying so hard not to blush at the same time, because I don't wanna make it sound like I'm asking her out.

"Yep!" She responded rather quickly. "Alright Sunsil, take a rest for now."

Sunsil licked Jill's cheek before nodding at her. That thing just melts my heart. I wanna play with it more. But Jill had to put it back in its Poké Ball before we head out. Same goes for me with Chimchar and Starly.

A few minutes later and we were already walking down the hill toward Main Street. There was a place that Jill wanted to show me down there, which did have me interested. That being said, my family has been living here for about three months now, so I should've adjusted to the town by now. However, there could be something that a native like Jill knows about that I don't.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Jill suddenly said. I braced myself for her question for no reason. We just met after all; There's no way one of us has a crush on each other already. Sure there's love at first sight, but that definitely didn't apply to either of us.

"Sure," I simply responded. "What is it?"

"How long have you and your dad been living in Portland?" She asked. Ok, good. It was just that. I got worried for nothing.

"About three months now," I said. "Why you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering," Jill responded.

"Alrighty," I said. "In fact, I wanted to ask you something myself."

"Sure. What is it that you wanna ask?"

"How did you and Sunsil meet?"

"Oh! That! Actually, Sunsil hatched from an Egg that my family had been raising." Her Vulpix hatched from an Egg? That would explain why she made that remark earlier, and why those two are so close. They must've been together for awhile.

"An Egg?" I asked.

"Yeah," She responded. "My parents are Pokémon Breeders actually, so they let me help them raise it until it hatched. I wanted to be the one to raise Vulpix as well. So I became a Pokémon Trainer a few days before the Egg hatched so I can be ready for it."

"That's nice," I said. Sounds like being a Pokémon Breeder is a better job than working at a news station or being an entrepreneur. "How did your family even get the Egg?"

"We were raising some Pokémon for a family that had been working overseas for a while, so they asked us to look after them while they were gone," She said. "But their Persian and Ninetails were 'having fun' one night, and the next morning, we found the Egg." I totally get what she was saying when she said "having fun." I have such a dirty mind sometimes, but it does come in handy for conversations like this.

"Oh really?" I asked. "How come you guys were able to keep the Egg if it didn't come from your Pokémon?"

"Well, when they returned, and we told them what had happened, they told us that we can keep it. They didn't have any room for anymore Pokémon, so they let us keep it in return for looking after their Pokémon for them."

"Oh that was nice of them," I said.

"Yeah," Jill said. "I've always wanted to have a Vulpix, so this brought me one step closer to having one. I got so excited when we found out that it was a Shiny Vulpix, too."

"Nice!" I responded.

Jill smiled and nodded at me. "My mom was originally gonna raise it, but when Vulpix jumped into my arms after hatching, that settled it. It wanted me to raise it."

"Aww," I responded. "That's adorable."

"Yeah," She said. "I've been doing most of the raising as my parents were helping with the other Pokémon at our Daycare."

"Oh, that would explain why you family had to raise that family's Pokémon!" I said.

"Yeah," Jill responded.

We continued to chat as we were coming close to our destination: The town battlefield? That's what was next to the intermediate school? This is convenient for me.

"Here we are!" Jill said. "The town's battlefield!"

"Oh that's cool!" I said. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Jill nodded at me once again. She wanted to have a battle with her new friend. Plus she did say that she was gonna coach me through the process of being a Pokémon Trainer as well.

As we were gonna head in, we saw two Trainers already having a battle, so we had to wait for our turn, as there was only room for one. We could ask them if we can form a Tag Battle, but I don't mind waiting. Gives us a chance to chat for a bit more. Or so I thought.

"Hey! There you are Jill!" Some guy yelled as he was walking toward us.

"Oh! Leo!" Jill yelled as she walked toward the guy and embraced him into a tight hug. Was that her brother or something?

"And who's this guy?" Leo asked, giving me a suspicious look. What did I ever do to him?

"This is Ian," Jill responded. "He's somewhat new here, as his family moved here about three months ago. He just became a Pokémon Trainer today!"

"Well congrats dude," Leo said. "Maybe you and I should battle one of these days once you get good." That last bit triggered me a bit. Is he trying to taunt me or something? 'Cause I'm not falling for whatever he's trying to pull.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce both of you!" Jill said. "Ian, I'm sure you heard, but this is my boyfriend Leo." Boyfriend? Dammit.

"Pleasure to meet you Ian," Leo said, reaching his hand out toward me to shake.

"Likewise," I said while shaking his hand. I have my suspicions with this guy. Gotta keep my guard up.

"What were you two up to?" Leo asked.

"We were planning to have a battle, but we're gonna have to wait for a bit," Jill responded.

"Well, how about I walk you home then?" Leo suddenly asked. Jeez, can't this guy wait? Is he really that desperate to get Jill away from me?

"Why now?" Jill asked. "We can chill right here."

"Well, where're you from Ian?" Leo asked me.

"Edgewood Road," I responded. "She and I are neighbors."

"Aren't you two lucky!" Leo responded. I don't know how to feel about this guy. "How about we walk back together?"

"That works," Jill responded. "That okay with you Ian?"

"I'll actually hang here so I can train with my Pokémon," I responded. I had to lie. After seeing what her boyfriend is trying to do to me, I wanted some time to myself.

"O-Ok," Jill said. "Then I guess I'll see you when you get home."

"See you man!" Leo said, walking away with Jill, holding her hand.

I simply waved at them as they left. "So she's got a boyfriend?" I asked to myself. "Great. Just fucking great."