NUZLOCKE RULES:

( 1 ) FAINTED POKÉMON ARE CONSIDERED "DEAD", THEY ARE TO BE BOXED IN THE GRAVEYARD.

( 2 ) FIRST POKÉMON ENCOUNTERED IN A ROUTE IS WHAT YOU CATCH (EXCEPTION, SHINY, DUPLICATES)

( 3 ) IF YOU RUN INTO DUPLICATES YOU HAVE TWO MORE TRIES TO RUN INTO SOMETHING ELSE.

( 4 ) NO DUPLICATES

( 5 ) HEALING ITEMS ARE TO BE NATURAL/FROM VENDING MACHINES ONLY (ie: Moomoo Milk, Roots, Berries, Lemonade etc.) OR THOSE THAT ARE FOUND. CHEMICAL MEDICINES ARE NOT TO BE BOUGHT.

( 6 ) NO LEGENDARY POKÉMON MAY BE CAPTURED (DISCLUDING ZEKROM)

( 7 ) INNER PINWHEEL FOREST AND OUTSIDE PINWHEEL FOREST COUNT AS TWO DIFFERENT ROUTES (THE SAME GOES FOR THE OUTSIDE, CAVE, AND CRATER FOREST OF GIANT CHASM AS IT IS LISTED AS THREE DIFFERENT PLACES ON BULBAPEDIA AND THE POKEMON OFFERED ARE VERY DIFFERENT).

CHAPTER ONE:

High Hopes in Velvet Ropes

The sun tried to peek through the curtains that had been drawn closed. Funny, how the slit of light still found the face of the teen curled up underneath his blankets. He squeezed his eyes shut a little tighter, tried to block the light out, tried to get a little more sleep. Just a few more minutes— the young male hadn't ever been the sort that woke up very quickly in the morning hours, unless something startled him into wakefulness of course.

Like… brown eyes blinked open, the room was blurry, but the looming green eyes merely inches from his face were impossible to miss. He yelped, his automatically recoiling, and found himself falling off the small mattress he slept on and slamming onto the floor. The brunette could only blink up at the girl looming over him, his hazel eyes stretching wide as his groggy mind tried to gather what had just happened.

"Happy birthday Derryn!" The girl all but shouted at him, blond hair framed those green eyes, and a hat that matched them in color was pulled over her head. It was Derryn's friend, Bianca, who had jammed her nose right in his face.

"You would do to be a little more courteous," Cheren, his other friend, was standing on the other side of the room. The male's arms were crossed over his chest and Derryn blinked, taking in the bespectacled male as he smirked a little pretentiously at him. "Are you going to shoo us out so you can get yourself dressed?"

"Eh?" Derryn blinked, glancing down— pajamas, dear Jesus! He squeaked, and quickly ushered his friends out of the room and shut the door behind him. A soft sigh escaped him, and the brunette glanced up at the ceiling.

So much for sleeping in.

Derryn Erikson was, on that particular day, turning eighteen years old. His friends were more excited about it than him— being eighteen meant that he was well over the age that most trainers were. His mother and father were all but shoving him out the door and into the grand ol' world of Pokémon.

Tugging on a sweater that was two-sizes too large for his thin frame (but the ratty thing made him feel better), the brunette's brown eyes caught sight of— what was that, a present? The youth drew nearer the thing, curiosity piqued.

It was a present. How it had ended up in his room was beyond him. He grabbed the card, eyes scanning over the scrawled words there. Professor Juniper? His mind summoned images of the local intellectual, a young woman who's laboratory was just on the outskirts of town. Still, something bothered him. Something about the fact that this was sitting in his room…

"Ohhh, what's this?" Bianca said, right next to his ear. Derryn yelped, jumping nearly five feet and whirling on his blond friend. She was smiling at him without an ounce of nervousness, though Derryn himself was turning red as a tomato even as Cheren plucked the card from his fingers.

"Y-you… B-Bianca wh-what if I'd been getting dressed still?" Derryn squeaked, cheeks so red that he felt he could resemble a fire-type Pokémon. Bianca giggled a little, and Derryn tried not to hide in the folds of his thick sweater.

"Juniper left you a package," Cheren murmured, tossing the card over his shoulder. "The card mentioned something about sharing."

Derryn blinked as his brown gaze flicked between his two friends. Bianca was bouncing up and down, wanting him to open the package, Cheren looked vaguely interested— which was basically screaming his own excitement. Derryn, however, found his fingers pausing on the ribboned surface of the package.

"Um… i-if you guys didn't deliver this…" Derryn muttered, his voice very soft, "Then… how… when did she drop this off?"

The youth had sudden mental images of the professor sneaking into his house, resting the present on the small bedside table, and sneaking back out with a sly look on her face. As pretty as the woman was, the thought creeped him out just a bit.

"Your mom probably placed it there." Cheren said, sounding bored.

"Stop stalling, open it! Open it!" Bianca giggled, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Derryn blinked, laughing a little to himself. These two were more interested in the gift than he was himself. He sighed, reaching forward and tugging lightly on the ribbon so that it fell off the pink box (why pink, he was unsure).

Nestled inside were three Pokéballs, with small plaques seated in front of them. Information regarding each and every one of the little creatures, as well as a small etching of them so that you could gather an idea for what they were. Derryn's stomach sank, his gift was Pokémon?

A Pokémon, he noted, glancing to the left and right and noticing the excitement on his friends faces. Swallowing his misgivings he picked the closest Pokéball and pulled it close to his chest. The small sphere seemed ominous to him somehow, the creature inside… what was it like?

"Oh, so I'll pick this one!" Bianca shouted, reaching in and nabbing the next. Cheren chuffed softly to himself, and muttered something about wanting the one that was left in the first place. Derryn blinked, looking owlishly at his two friends. Bianca bounded over to him, a wild grin on her face, "Let's battle!"

"Wh-what? Now?" Derryn squeaked, glancing around his tidy room. Bianca was already stepping back, the red and white sphere she held was tossed in the air, and with an audible POP! the ball split in two, and a beam of light flickered to life and shone in the center of the room. After a few moments a small piglet-like creature appeared, it snorted, a small plume of smoke curled before its nostrils, and it lifted its head.

"Tepig, go." Bianca said, all confidence. Derryn swallowed, staring at his own Pokéball before tossing it in the air. Like before the sphere opened up with a loud noise and a flash of light, and then before him stood a small otter-like creature. Derryn blinked, noting the way the small Pokémon shook out his pelt and turned dark eyes on their opponent with a grim sort of courage.

"U-um… Oshawott you're up." Derryn said, the Pokémon glanced back at him, for a moment, sizing him up he was certain. The brunette swallowed, ducking his head down a little and tried to look a little less meek— while being completely timid at the same time.

Then the Tepig tackled him. The Oshawott snarled, having been thrown against the wall, and used it as a spring-board to launch itself at the pig that had just attacked him. Derryn's eyes stretched wide as he watched the two Pokémon. Bianca was blissfully ordering attacks left and right, though Derryn himself was… er…

Speechless. His television set crashed to the ground, a loud popping noise followed by a tinkle that made him feel certain the screen had shattered. He yelped, barely avoiding the two Pokémon as they hurled by him in a ball of fighting bodies, and before he could even think to utter a word of dismay Tepig ended up in an unconscious heap at Bianca's feet.

"Aw… I lost." Bianca said, she looked up and seemed to notice the destruction she'd caused only then. Derryn was staring in something like horror as Cheren applied some sort of medicine to his starter— only to see the water otter spring into action and tackle the bespectacled male's Snivy.

"W-wait!" Derryn yelped, scrambling forward to try and stop the two Pokémon. Cheren watched with a calm sort of superiority that made Derryn feel so uncomfortable that he could barely hide it, though his Oshawott made quick work of the grass type Cheren had chosen as his starter. The Snivy shakily stood up, and glared at the spit-fire Pokémon that had attacked it.

Derryn launched himself forward, scooping the otter into his arms and making the creature stiffen and give him a look that could curdle cheese. He whimpered, but didn't let it go. "My room— oh god, my mom is going to kill me."

In the wake of the destruction his two friends glanced at one another, and promptly left.

"Ope, I need to get home, got to talk to the parents and such!" Bianca shouted.

"I should go discuss matters with Juniper." Cheren added.

They were both gone in moments, and Derryn was left standing in the center of his room— which had been completely and utterly destroyed. There were Pokémon footprints on the walls somehow. Oshawott glared up at him, those dark eyes seemed so rebellious… and yet there was an intelligence behind them…

"I can't scold you," Derryn said softly, staring down at the small Pokémon in his arms. The otter looked caught off-guard, the creature blinked twice and Derryn carefully set it down as he knelt in front of it. "You're a male right?"

"…Osha…" the creature said, tentatively. Derryn blinked, clueless, and the Pokémon sulked, "Osha, oshawott."

"I'm sorry…" Derryn said, making the Pokémon smirk slightly to itself as though he was sharing some inside joke with someone. Derryn blinked, before sitting cross-legged in front of the little water Pokémon. "I should name you something, shouldn't I?"

Those dark eyes met his hazel gaze, and he nodded, cupping his chin in hand. The creature before him definitely deserved a name, something his own that Derryn could call him, and after a moment's thinking the brunette had the answer.

"How… how about Miro?" Derryn asked, timidly. The Pokémon tilted its head to one side, before giving him a fang-toothed grin. Derryn smiled, and held out his hand, "Nice to meet you Miro, I'm Derryn— I… I guess we're partners, from now on."

"Derryn darling, I thought I heard some sort of racket— Oh. My. God." The door had opened, his mother was standing there, and Derryn watched as she took in the room. Derryn flinched, pulling Miro close to his chest as his mother shrieked, "Derryn Thomas Erikson what have you done?"

Well, it seemed things were off to a… less than fabulous start.