"Do you dream of a life of adventure? Freedom? Do you have an everlasting love for Pokemon? Then now is your chance to make your dreams come true! This Saturday is the official start of the Pokemon League season, so stop by your local Pokemon Professor's lab and pick up your free starter Pokemon! This is a one day only event, so please come by early to ensure you receive a Pokemon."

Carmine groaned, his hand reaching out and fumbling around with the remote to shut off the TV.

"This advertisement dedicated in loving memory of Professor Samuel Oa-CLICK!"

"I guess I'm awake now." Carmine sighed, tossing his blanket off. He was already in a habit of staying up until the early morning; the last thing he wanted was being woken up before he got a full eight hours. After all, he was a growing boy, he needed his sleep.

Sluggishly walking down his stairs to the kitchen, Carmine was quickly greeted by his mother, "Hey honey, sit down, breakfast is almost ready." He wasn't sure, but Carmine had this sneaking suspicion that his mother was the one who turned his TV on every morning; slowly, but surely guaranteeing he would be roused from his sleep in time to eat.

**************

"So mom," Carmine began, halfway through a piece of toast, "Mikado is leaving today. He's getting his first Pokemon too."

"That's great dear," She replied, "Would you mind running to the store for me? I have a few things I need for dinner tonight."

Carmine sighed, knowing that another day was going to go by without a word in edgewise about his Pokemon training. No matter how hard he pushed it, his mom was a master of the cold shoulder.

After a quick shower, Carmine snagged the list from his mom and headed out.

Once outside, Carmine couldn't help but smile at the beautiful weather. It was that happy intermediary of winter and spring that let you wear t-shirts outside, but it wasn't hot enough to make you uncomfortable or cold enough to warrant a jacket. Aside from the autumn, this was Carmine's favorite weather; maybe today wouldn't be so bad.

Over the years, Pallet Town had grown significantly. Rather than a few homes, it now held twenty, plus the laboratory and a large Pokemart which doubled as a supermarket. It was a similar story for the rest of Kanto, ever since Team Rocket was disbanded; people had stopped living in fear and started…well, living again. Kanto flourished and everything was great, for awhile at least.

A nearby telephone pole had a flier plastered too it, much too large as it wrapped around and partly covered itself. A large face was portrayed on it, a handsome man of about forty-five, with the word WANTED printed above and GIOVANNI beneath. It had been years since Team Rocket had been single-handedly disbanded by Red, one of the greatest Pokemon trainers Kanto had ever seen. There was a scare of their resurgence three years later though, but it was again quelled by another young prodigy, though reports were never clear which of the three trainers involved was primarily responsible.

Much more recently, people in Rocket outfits have been causing havoc throughout Kanto. Though most shrugged it off as thugs trying to use Team Rocket's name, there were still those who thought Team Rocket was trying to make a comeback. Carmine knew the Rocket history well and he very much doubted a comeback any time soon.

Ding, dong.

"Carmine!" A voice called out the moment Carmine stepped inside.

"Oh," He frowned, "Hey Mikado."

Mikado was the younger brother of Carmine's first girlfriend, Marigold. Unfortunately, their parents did not get along very well and ended up divorcing, with Marigold being taken to Johto with her father and Mikado remaining in Kanto with his mother. It hurt Carmine a lot, but brought Mikado closer; he was a few years younger and already looked up to Carmine like a big brother, so when his real sibling left, he got rather attached.

"Check it out!" Mikado shouted, pulling a Pokeball out of his pocket, "It's an Elekid!"

"That's…terrific." Carmine said, forcing a smile, walking past Mikado and picking items off the shelf. Mikado kept talking, unaware of Carmine trying to ignore him, going on about how excited he was to be leaving, something about running shoes, and then mentioned the possibility of Marigold coming to visit. Gritting his teeth, Carmine dropped his items on the counter and tapped his foot impatiently.

"So what do you think?" Mikado asked.

"About, what?" Carmine replied.

"Coming with me!"

Carmine's face went blank, "I can't Mikado."

"What?" He scratched his head, "Why not? Your mom still won't let you leave?"

"No, Mikado." Carmine grabbed his bag full of items, dropping some money onto the counter, "No, she won't."

He stomped away, but as he reached the door turned around, "I guess I'll see you later...oh wait, no I won't."

As soon as the door shut behind him, the guilt set in. Carmine had no reason to be mad at Mikado, but he promised in his mind to make it up to him later. After all, the whole reason Mikado wanted to go on a journey was his fault; constantly talking about taking on the gyms, what kind of Pokemon they would raise, and typical crazy adventure shenanigans.

Drowning in memories, Carmine barely had time to notice the small Charmander wandering in front of him.

"Whoa!" He exclaimed, his eyes growing twice their normal size, "Where did you come from little fellow?"

"Ahem."

Carmine turned to see a shady man standing in the nearby alleyway, wearing a light brown trench coat and a fedora tipped down, shadowing his face.

"That." He coughed, deepening his voice, "Is my Charmander, son."

"Oh…" Carmine frowned.

"But," The man began, "If you fancy yourself a future trainer, I could be willing to let him go for as little as $300."

Carmine's head drooped, "I've been saving my allowance for weeks, but I only have fifty right now…"

The man put a hand on his chin, "Well, seeing as I can't take care of this Pokemon, I don't think it'd be too great of a loss to let him go for fifty."

"R-really?!" Carmine exclaimed, nearly jumping, while also quickly removing the money from his pocket and stuffing it into the stranger's hands in exchange for a Pokeball.

"Take good care of him kid."

"I will, I promise, I swear!"

And with that, Carmine took off running towards home. The man smiled, snickering, "I was just going to give it to you later, but..."

**************

"Are you crazy Carmine?!" He had never heard his mother so angry, "You're not going anywhere, especially with some creature a total stranger handed you off the street! If your father was here, it would be a different story; he could teach you everything you need to know and…" Carmine bit his tongue and gripped his Poké Ball tightly.

"Carmine…" She sighed, crossing her arms, realizing she might have gone a bit far, "You just can't do this. You aren't prepared."

"What do you mean I'm not prepared?!" Carmine shouted in disbelief, "You and dad went when you were younger than me!"

"The world was a different place Carmine; it's not safe out there. Something could happen to you, and by yourself? No, I-"

"NO!" He screamed, "NO! You and dad had your adventures; you had the time of your life and did all sorts of amazing things! And you know what?! I'm sick of sitting home and studying for professions I will never get, for jobs that I hate! I like Pokemon, I'm going to be a Pokemon Master and you are not going to stop me!" Before he finished, he had turned and begun to walk away. His mother opened her mouth to stop him, but realized it was of no use; she could, but he would hate her and probably just run away when she was sleeping.

"Carmine, wait!" He froze, looking over his shoulder as his mom disappeared into their home. After a few moments she returned, carrying his backpack and a Poké Ball. Attempting to hide the smile on his face with apathy, he looked down and held out his hand.

"Wait." She said sternly, holding the items back, "If you're going to go on this journey, you're going to do as I ask or I'll just use Psyduck to lock you in your room, understand?"

Sighing, Carmine nodded slowly.

"Good." She offered him his pack, "I put an extra pair of clothes in there, some food, and some money. It'll be enough to get you to Pewter City, but if you need any more, just call me, okay?"

Carmine nodded a bit more eagerly.

Taking a breath, she held up the Poké Ball, "This is my Politoed. He's been with me for a very long time and is a great Pokémon; powerful, loyal, and very friendly. If you ever get into trouble, let Politoed help you. When your own Pokémon are stronger you can send him back to me, but until then I don't want to see his little green face," She winked, "Got it?"

Carmine's arms were already around her and after mumbling, "Thanks mom" he was running off.

"D-don't forget to call me!" She yelled waving goodbye as Carmine disappeared into the wilderness.

Holding her hands over her heart, she wished Carmine luck.

After longingly staring into the distance for a bit, she smiled and went back inside.

"How," She begun as she closed the door, "Did I not know it was you?"

A chuckle came from the kitchen and a yellow flash darted into the hall.

"Hey Pikachu," She said, catching the yellow mouse in mid-jump and hugging him softly.

"PiKachupi!"

"You know, you could have called and said you were coming home," She said, walking to the kitchen, "I'm pretty sure Carmine would have liked to se- HEY! That was my lunch!"

The man sitting at the table grinned, tipping his hat forward over his eyes, "I missed you too."