Welcome to my novelization of Gen 2! Through this story you will be witnessing the adventure of Lyra and Kris Elm along with Ethan Gold. Now, due to this being a fanfic I have to note that no, I do not own Pokémon because if I did Ash wouldn't still be ten.

Ethan yawned as he awoke. The light that was coming through the window and hitting his face was what caused him to begrudgingly open his eyes. As he sat up he lazily looked to his left and saw that his mother's futon was no longer next to him.

"She must already be up." She said as he blinked lazily. Getting up from his futon he began his morning schedule. First he went to the clothing closet and grabbed what he'd need for the day. He then entered the bathroom to to take a quick shower. Once out he was wearing his favorite jacket with a pair of worn out jeans and a t-shirt that had a stain neither he nor his mother could ever wash out. Ethan, as always, forgot to roll up his futon and put it away in the second closet. Unbeknownst to him it wouldn't get put away for quite a while.

"Morning mom!" Ethan called as he lumbered down the stairs into the conjoined kitchen and living room. However his mother didn't answer even after he reached the bottom of the stairs. He didn't need to try very hard to figure out what was wrong. Over at the small table where they did a multitude of things such as eat, write, read, and watch TV was his mother. She was sitting on her cushion, face down against her arms, using them as pillows. As he walked closer to her he couldn't help but wonder whether she had gone to bed at all last night.

"Lets see…" He whispered softly as he examined the contents on the table. First he noticed there was an opened envelope and a small package wrapped in small paper. Ethan already had a feeling as to what they were, it made him both incredibly excited and a bit frightened at the same time. Next he saw the water and food stamps. Given the way things were currently Ethan could understand the food stamps. Despite it being a little over a decade and a half ago the Johto farm lands hadn't completely healed from The Great War. However Ethan could not wrap his mind around the water stamps. Surely the water wasn't that contaminated. If it was then everyone in New Bark Town were lucky. Kanto Route 27 provided drinkable water, you barely had to do anything to purify it! Professor Elm thinks all the water Pokémon living throughout it had something to do with, Ethan remembered.

"...Hun…" His mother muttered in her sleep as Ethan continued to observe the table. He had gotten use to her sleep talking long ago. Under his mother's arms were the bills. "...Hun…" She muttered again. "Hun" is what she had called Ethan's father. They both dreamed of him often. Unlike most children of his generation Ethan hadn't lost his father to war. In fact his father went on to be a police officer along with his trusty Ninetails, which is ultimately what killed them. Ethan was about six or so when it happened and it was just a devastating for him as it was for his mother. What made it worse is that Ethan, the poor lad, knew he would have forgotten what his dear father looked like if it wasn't for the picture on the desk upstairs. The fact that he'd have to ask his mother the name of the Ninetails, Kyu in case you're wondering, every so often, was proof of that. "...Hun…" She muttered once more.

"I'll make breakfast." He whispered with a faux smile. He then got up from his crouched position and walked over to the fridge. Once he opened it he took a good long look at the contents. Almost none of it was bought without a stamp. Most of their money came from his mother's job at the grocery and the little odd jobs Ethan himself did around the small town. Said money almost entirely went to paying bills. Ethan felt he should do more but in reality he really couldn't. Most kids his age who earned money were stuck to doing side jobs like currently was, or being package couriers, which in itself could be rather dangerous. The best paying "job" a child could get was being a Pokémon Trainer, and even then it all mattered on how good you were. Eventually he pulled out some MooMoo Milk and got a box of cereal from the cupboard along with two bowls and two spoons. After he poured the cereal, "Pika Bites" he believed. he opened the bottle of MooMoo Milk and began to pour that as well. Ethan remembered his mom saying once that, "Before there were Miltank Trainers we got our milk from cows!" This little seemingly insignificant memory made Ethan scowl. The thought of using what one would call a "regular animal" for anything but meat made him feel sick to his stomach. Of course the thought of drinking something that came from a Pokémon itself sounded gross as well, but MooMoo Milk tasted really good so he never truly questioned it.

After he emptied out the bottle he carried the bowls and their spoons over to the little table. He set one down near his mother and the other down where he usually sat. Ethan then proceeded to pull his cushion out from under the table and sat down. He then reached over the table and gave his mother's shoulder a nudge. She didn't wake up. He repeated the action, a little rougher this time. She still didn't wake up.

"Mom!" Ethan finally called out. This caused her to awaken, understandably a little startled. "I made breakfast." He said softer.

"So you did…" She said with half lidded eyes. "Thanks, sweetheart." She said with a little, tired smile. Ethan only nodded with genuine grin. Ethan was rarely awake early enough to make breakfast for the two of them but when he was he took great pride in it, even if it was just a bowl of cereal. They both ate in happy silence.

"So do we need any more Pokéyen for the bills?"The boy question his mother.

"What makes you think that we do?" She questioned back.

"Your eyes are kinda puffy looking, kinda like if you were crying. You don't need to worry though! I can totally get some more cash! I'm sure someone 'round here needs their lawn mowed or laundry hung!" He said so fast barely any of it would have been understandable if you didn't know him well enough.

"Like I was...crying." The black haired woman muttered, "Oh! No, no, no, no, no! I wasn't upset over the bills I was… I was watching a movie last night and it got mamma's emotions running is all." She said in a half-truth half-lie attempt to cover up why she had been crying the night before. While it was true she hadn't been crying over bills she had still lied as to the real reason she had shed tears. The woman felt incredibly silly over the real reason. After all almost every child left for an adventure at around Ethan's time in life.

"You're silly, ma!" Ethan laughed in that innocent way that only a child that had just barely missed having any memories of The Great War could.

"Oh, what time is it Ethan?" The woman asked just remembering something.

"Can't be much past Nine O'Clock, why?"

"Well in that case your friend Lyra was here not to long ago. She was playing hide and seek with that Marill of her's. Maybe if you hurry you could play with them too!" She said happily. More than anything the black haired woman wanted her son to have fun.

"Alright!" He hollered as he got up to go.

"Oh, oh wait a second!", the woman called to her song as she remembered something.

"Huh?" He questioned bending a bit to the side in order to look at his mother as he put his left shoe on.

"Her father was here to." She informed her son as he got his right shoe on.

"Professor Elm?" He questioned as he got up and walked back over to her while zipping up his jacket. He really didn't want her to know he was wearing the stained shirt. If she did he would just get sent up to their room to find a new one.

"Yes, he had a favor to ask you. He said he'd be at his lab all day so that would be the best place to look." She said.

"Okay, I'll go check it out!" He said with clear excitement in his voice.

"Before you go make sure you take your bag, and… well this too." Any adult would have recognized the sadness in the last three words, but not a child. Not Ethan. As he slid his bag haphazardly onto his shoulder she pulled the card out of it's envelope. "This is your Trainer Card…", she said quietly as she handed it to him. Despite her sadness she couldn't help but smile at the enthusiastic look he had on his face. He had wanted to be a Pokémon Trainer for so long, now he finally was.

"Thanks ma!", he yelled as he ran to the hat rack by the door. He then grabbed his hat put it on backwards, as always, and ran out the door.