Hi! KingKagura here~

This is another story from my AO3! Please enjoy~

"Eevee use swift!" a dark brunette boy shouts. Responding to his owner's voice, the brown creature jumps in the air and twirls a backflip, letting out a mass of stars that shoot at the opposing blue pokemon. Smoke covers over the battlefield, intensifying the atmosphere.

"Piplup!" A high-pitch screech comes from the light brunette girl—Piplup's trainer. The smoke clears to reveal only one pokemon standing. The brown and furry Eevee stands on all fours as Piplup, the blue bird lays on the dirt fainted.

"Okay! The winner is Shinichi-kun!" A girl with messy long brown hair announces, her arm raised so that she could point towards the brunette boy who stands smugly.

Another girl with dark brown hair rushes towards the light brown haired girl. "Sonoko!" She soothes the other girl as the referee walks over to them. She then turns to the boy fiercely as he and another boy walk over to the group of girls. "Shinichi you idiot! Couldn't you have gone easier on her!"

Shinichi puts his hands behind his head and complains. "If I went easy on her than it would be spoiling her."

The brunette boy next to him that has an almost identical face as him snickers. "Shin-chan just doesn't want to look uncool in front of Ran!"

"Idiot—That isn't the reason!" Shinichi replies in reflex.

Ran, the girl who was soothing Sonoko, stomps on the ground, creating a great crack in it. "You could have still gone easier on her!"

Sonoko then stops Ran, "It's okay Ran! Besides, you can't blame your husband for wanting to look cool in front of you!" She laughs.

Both Shinichi and Ran turn red at this, and Ran is the first to refuse. "Geez Sonoko! I already told you it isn't like that!"

"Aww! Ran-chan is so cute!" the other brunette girl who was the referee pitches in. She nudges the other boy. "Right, Kaito?~!"

Kaito grins taking out a deck of cards, showing them off before making them disappear into thin air and in place his swablu appears. "Yeah! Shin-chan and Ran sitting in a tree—!~" Suddenly, Shinichi's foot found Kaito's as he had stomped on his cousin's foot hard to stop the boy from continuing his song. Kaito glares at his twin-like cousin with his eyebrow twitching.

Shinichi checks his watch, "It's time. Come on, Kaito, Hakase asked us to come over remember."

"Okay~" Kaito replies with a grin. Shinichi walks past him, and Kaito follows behind him waving towards the girls. "Bye Bye~"

The three girls wave back as they watch the two twin-like boys leave the grass field. Sonoko grumbles at the sight of the disappearing boys. "Geez... Boys will always be boys!"

"Now, now Sonoko!" Ran chuckles.

Aoko laughs, "Come on, let's leave those two idiots alone and train by ourselves!" She takes out a pokeball and expands it, pumping it up into the air.

Sonoko smirks and takes out her own pokeball. "Yeah! Let's go, Aoko!"

However, Ran steps in between the two girls, successfully stopping them. "Sonoko, you forgot that you need to get Piplup healed first!"

"Ahh—!" the chestnut brunette lets out a strangled yelp. "Let's do that first, then."

Meanwhile, Shinichi and Kaito enter Professor Agasa's house and lab. For a house in a small village town, Agasa's house was a more modern and scientific home. The building was made of wood but the interior was full of machines of all sorts and gadgets that seemed futuristic and the walls are light gray to match the laboratory like look. Once past the entrance, Shinichi calls out, making his voice echo off the walls. "Oi! Hakase!"

"We came like you asked!" Kaito shouts.

After hearing the two voices, sounds of thuds were heard, and soon a big overweight man with long gray hair comes stumbling out. Agasa laughs, "Oh! Welcome Shinichi, Kaito!" He then motions them towards the room he came from. "Now this way! I have something for the two of you!"

Both brunettes look at each other in curiosity, exchanging looks, before following the older man into his study. Once inside, they see a machine with two gadgets on it: one red and one blue. Agasa reaches for the two devices, picks them up, and walks back to the two 10-year-olds. Holding the two devices up, Agasa explains. "These are pokedexes, a pokemon encyclopedia. They record a pokemon's information after you catch it! I worked with several other professors around the world to make it. Now Shinichi, Kaito—I have a favor to ask of the two of you." He pauses, and both boys watch him with serious eyes. "I would like you two to take these pokedexes and record all the pokemon you encounter on your travels through the Hoenn region. After all, you both are now 10 years old, so you are legally allowed to travel. Could you do this for me?"

Kaito blinks at the question before his lips spread into a big grin. "Sure, Hakase!"

Shinichi nods. "Yeah, We can do that."

"Thank you! Here you go, one for each of you!" the overweight man hands the red Pokedex to Kaito and the blue one to Shinichi before continuing. "Now, putting that aside… I have gifts for you both!" He turns to another machine behind him and presses a button on it.

"Gifts?" Kaito questions out loud as both boys look over Agasa's sides at the machine. Three holes open in the machine and out pops a pokeball from each.

"Pokemon?" Shinichi breathes out.

Agasa picks up the pokeball to the left, then turns back around to the boys. "Yes, they are pokemon I've acquired recently! I want both of you to have one." He then presses the center button of the ball, releasing the pokemon from inside. Out comes a green pokemon which stands upright and has a darker green leaf-shaped tail. Its sclera is yellow and its eyes are black, and the look it gave was sharp and cool. However, the boys could tell that the pokemon was very confident and proud. Agasa introduces it, "This is Treecko, a grass type." Then he picks up the ball from the middle and opens it. An orange bird-like pokemon pops out, with yellow accent feathers and big black eyes. It seems to have been a jolly type from its energetic greetings. "This is Torchic, a fire type." Finally, Agasa grabs the last ball on the right and unleashes it. A blue creature comes out, standing on all fours. It has a fin on top and orange spiky cheeks. The pokemon seems to be mild-natured as it did not respond much but was happy enough to greet the two boys. "Lastly, this is Mudkip, a water type! Now, who goes first?"

Both boys face each other, their blue eyes meet in a matching stare. The first to give in is Shinichi who chuckles, "I'll go after Kaito."

Kaito looks at Shinichi in surprise. "Really, Shin-chan? I can go first?"

"Yeah, now hurry up!" the boy with neat dark hair grins and pushes his cousin forward.

"O-okay." Kaito then stands tall over the three pokemon, examining each of them from a distance. He then stops his gaze at the orange chick in the middle with a big grin spread across his face. He bends down to meet the small pokemon and extends his hand to it. "Would you like to be my partner, Ojou-san?"

The small bird gazes up at Kaito's bright cerulean eyes. "Tor!" She agrees, placing her yellow wing on the small boy's hand.

"Great! I'm Kuroba Kaito, pursuing to be a coordinator, and..." Suddenly, a yellow rose appears in the dark brunette's hand. "...a magician. For you, Ojou-san." He hands the flower to Torchic, who takes it in her mouth. Kaito places a thoughtful hand under his chin, "Hmm... I think you need another name besides 'Torchic'..." He spares a glance at the small orange bird before deliberately grinning. "How about... 'Tori'? What do you think about that?"

"Tor! Torchic!" Torchic chirps in agreement.

Kaito rises with a satisfied smile across his lips. "Then it's settled! I'm glad to have you as a partner, Tori!"

"Torchic!~"

"So you will take Torchic, huh, Kaito! Well then, here." Agasa walks up to the messy haired boy and hands him a pokeball. "This is Torchic's ball! I know you will take good care of her! But, I have one question, Kaito. How did you know Torchic was a girl?"

"Oh. That was simple, even Shin-chan could tell Tori was the only girl of the group! Tori's mannerism and her appearance were the biggest factors that helped us tell her gender!" Kaito explains to the big man.

The other brunette continues. "It was very simple to deduce Hakase." He smirks, "Anyways, it's my turn now right?"

"Oh! Right, Shinichi go ahead!" Agasa waves Shinichi over to the last two pokemon: Treecko and Mudkip. Both pokemon look up and gaze at Shinichi's indigo eyes in suspense.

Shinichi keeps a cautious eye on both pokemon, examining his choices. He strides towards the two pokemon and then stops in front of one of them. The one Shinichi stops in front of is Mudkip, which only calmly stares up at him. Shinichi bends down to the small blue pokemon to meet it at a better height. "I'm Kudou Shinichi." He introduces himself. "Would you like to be my partner, Mudkip?"

The blue fin sways from side to side as if it represent it considering the offer. He then nods in affirmative, "Mud."

Shinichi's face twists into his usual smirk, "Glad to have you on board."

Agasa walks over to the pair with a pokeball in hand as Shinichi stands up. "Here Shinichi, Mudkip's pokeball." The dark brunette takes the ball from the professor's hand. Then he turns to Mudkip and points the ball at it and presses the center of the pokeball. Mudkip glows red and returns into the ball as it opens. Shinichi shrinks the ball and fits the ball in his pocket.

"Ahem!" Agasa lets out a cough to catch the attention of the two boys. "Be sure to tell your parents that you are setting out before you do, okay!"

"Kaa-san! I'm home!" Shinichi announces once he enters the house.

A beautiful woman with golden brown hair emerges from the kitchen. "Welcome home, Shin-chan!" She greets her son as he takes off his shoes and puts on slippers. "So? What did Agasa-san ask you?"

"He asked me to do him a favor when I set out to travel," Shinichi answers uninterested.

Yukiko watches as her son strides over to the living room and relaxes on the armchair. Her eyes soften and her lips slide into a smile. "So does that mean you are going to start your journey finally, Shin-chan?"

Shinichi puts his chin in his palm as he leans into the couch. "Y-yeah… Kaito and I decided we would leave tomorrow."

"And when were you going to tell me, young man?!" Yukiko scolds playfully.

The brunette's blue eyes slide to the side as he grumbles. "Later…" Suddenly, he stands up. "Anyways, I'm going to go prepare for my take off."

"Okay!~" Yukiko grins. Shinichi begins to climb the stairs when his mother stops him. "Oh and Shin-chan!"

"Yes?" He turns his head to his mother, stopping midway in his ascent.

Yukiko gives him a foxy grin, as her expression beams. "I have a present for you and Kai-chan before you leave! I'll give it to you both at dinner!"

"'Kay…" Shinichi gives her a questioning glare, but shrugs it off and continues up the stairs.

"Yo, Oyaji." Kaito exhales softly as he stands before the giant portrait of his father, Kuroba Toichi. The picture was from one of his father's contest appeal stages, with him and his Altaria, Aya, performing a magical appeal. Kaito carefully touches the painting, sliding his fingers across the smooth surface. "I'm going to leave the nest tomorrow." His eyes close and he stands quiet as if he is listening to his father's reply. He then cracks a cheeky grin. "Don't worry, I will be back! And I will be a top coordinator like you!" Kaito presses his hand all the way on the painting as his smile falls and his cerulean eyes soften.

That's when the gears began to turn.

"Uwah!"

"Yuki-oneesan! Shin-chan! I'm here for dinner!" Kaito snickers as he slips off his shoes and on his slippers. The boy with a birdnest head skips towards the dining room. Giddy cerulean eyes meet unimpressed indigo eyes, as Kaito pops out right in front of his cousin's face.

Shinichi puts his hand on Kaito's head and pushes the mischievous magician away from him. "Get away from my… face!" With a poof, pink smoke covers Shinichi's vision. Quickly, he waves the smoke away. Kaito is now sitting next to Shinichi with Yukiko sitting across from her son and the table all set for dinner. On the table are three plates of curry and wine glasses. Instead of wine, on the table is sparkling cider.

Kaito grins like a fox before grabbing the bottle and Yukiko giggles. Kaito snaps his finger and a poof of pink smoke covers the bottle of cider for an instant before dissipating. The cap was now off the bottle and perfectly set on the table. Quickly and smoothly, Kaito poured the beautiful sparkly liquid into the wine glasses then sets the bottle on the table.

Yukiko raises her glass in cheer. "Cheers to Shin-chan and Kai-chan's pokemon adventure!"

"Cheers!" Kaito snickers as he raises his glass. Shinichi raised his glass simultaneosly and the three glasses clinked. Then, the three began to eat their meal.

"So," Shinichi interrupts the quiet, cheery atmosphere. "What is it that you are going to give us?"

Yukiko scoots away from the table and skips off. "Wait a second!~"

The neat brunette places his head on his hand as the messy haired brunette exchanges a look of confusion with his cousin. Shinichi shrugs off the look and continues eating. Kaito takes the shrug as a sign to continue eating also. A couple of minutes later, the golden brown-haired woman descends from the stairs a bag in each hand.

"Shin-chan, Kai-chan!~" she sings as she approaches the duo. Both boys look up at the beautiful woman before she springs a bag onto each of them—the blue one for Shinichi and the red for Kaito. "Open it! Open it!"

Both boy's blue eyes scan the woman to reassure themselves before digging out the contents of their bags. "Kaa-san! This is—" Shinichi gasps as he holds up brand new clothes.

Kaito smiles, "Thank you, Yuki-oneesan!" The brunettes examine their new outfits with smiles of amazement spread across their face...

Yukiko giggles at the boys' behavior. "Be sure to wear them for your journey, okay? Chikage-chan and I picked it out a while ago for the two of you, knowing that the day you both would leave would be soon!"

Shinichi folds the clothes back into the bag before turning to his mother. "Kaa-san, thank you."

Yukiko answers with a grin and then the family returns to their dinner.

Shinichi glances at his watch for the fifth time that morning.

"Sorry I'm late!" Shinichi raises his head up from his clock to glare at his cousin as he runs over to him. Kaito snickers as he runs, "I was looking for something last minute and lost track of time!"

Shinichi sighs. "We are behind schedule now, so we need to get going now! Or else we won't make it to Oldale town before nightfall."

"Okay! Okay!" Kaito exhales as he catches up with the older boy.

Suddenly a scream fills the air, "SHINICHI!"

Indigo eyes widen as the boys turn to the voice. Ran! Shinichi gapes at the sight of big, clear indigo eyes and long dark brown hair flowing in the wind.

Those same indigo eyes grow fierce into a glare. "Shinichi…" Ran growls causing the two boys especially the one in question to start to sweat.

"R-ran! What are you doing here?!" Shinichi stutters.

"What do you mean 'what are you doing here'?! I should be the one to ask you that!" She yells, tears meeting the brim of her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me that you would be leaving!? I had to hear from Aoko-chan who was told by Kaito-kun! Why didn't you tell me, Shinichi?!" Tears flow from her eyes.

Ran… Shinichi stands there in shock. He recovers and gulps, "Ran... I—"

Ran's eyes squint fiercely into a glare. "Shinichi!" She takes out a pokeball from her pocket and expands it. Then, thrusts it towards the neat-haired boy, causing him to flinch. "I challenge you!"

Shinichi blinks his indigo eyes as he stares at the pokeball.

Ran…?