Zephyr

Chapter One

A heavy gust picked up and sailed north from the Olivine coast, grazing the grass and scraping the surfaces of lakes and mountain snow alike as it went. Something big was coming, and the whole region seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation. Even the land itself seemed to sense something was about to happen, and the world-famous winds were charged with static that morning that even the most oblivious ground-type was sure to feel.

But for two trainers, that day was just the start of an adventure like any other, the breaking-in of a whole new region to explore, completely unaware of the danger looming on the horizon that threatened to overtake Johto.

"Noctowl, get back here!" Hollis shouted, dashing after his pokemon as fast as he could. The owl pokemon, born and raised in Hoenn, had never seen a rattata before, much less one as plump and juicy-looking as the one he was in pursuit of right now. His trainer, a boy of about fourteen, was none too thrilled, trying desperately to recall the pokemon back to its great ball and hang onto his black messenger bag, to no avail. Noctowl was completely oblivious to his trainer's frenzied commands as he chased the little purple rat down the last large hill descending back into Olivine City, his trainer dropping his brand-new supplies all the way.

All in all, not a great way to start a new adventure in a new region.

At the same time, another's journey was off to a bad start as well. Alisa, who had come from the Unova region to start a new adventure, had found herself rummaging through the mountains of produce at the Olivine Farmer's Market on the north side of town. Soon after arriving, though, one of her pokemon, a weavile, spotted something shiny darting out of the city and heading north on Route 39. In typical Weavile fashion, curiosity got the best of her and she decided to investigate, leaving Alisa all alone.

As luck would have it, Hollis's Noctowl was so caught up in chasing his poor victim that he failed to notice the weasel-like coming at him head-on until it was too late. The two collided and fell to the ground with a hollow thud, the sharp claw pokemon rolling back a few feet. Hollis finally caught up to the AWOL flying-type, only to come face-to-face with a pissed-off Weavile.

Yep, things were definitely not looking up for him.

Weavile snarled at the pair, upset that that clumsy bird had made her lose the trail of the shiny object. She flexed her claws menacingly and sauntered towards them, pondering which attack she should use to punish them. Perhaps a Night Slash would take care of them? Or maybe an Ice Punch... yes, that sounded betterto her. The weasel-like pokemon broke into a run, curling her long claws into the best fist she could manage and prepared to strike-

"Weavile! Don't run off like that again! That's so dangerous!" Alisa scolded, running up the hill as fast as she could. Another of her pokemon, a Luxray with only one eye, trotting beside his trainer. The luxray growled at the two strangers; Hollis put his hands up in defense. Great, now there were more maniacs coming along to eat him!

"Not the face!" he squealed, voice cracking. Noctowl squawked in alarm as well, but the other trainer just sighed and shook her head.

"I'm really sorry about all of this," she apologized. "Weavile and Luxray won't attack you. Weavile here just up and ran off a few minutes ago, and I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the direction she was heading in. I'm glad I caught her before she had time to attack... But I have to ask, what upset her so badly she was ready to knock your heads off with an Ice Punch?"

"Um... " Hollis paused for a moment and scratched his head. "I guess they ran into each other? I really don't know."

"Hm. Fair enough," Alisa replied, extending a hand. "I'm Alisa, from the Unova region. You are?"

Hollis shook her hand roughly and grinned. "My name's Hollis. I'm from Slateport, in the Hoenn region."

"So then, Hollis from Hoenn," Alisa said, "what are you doing here in Johto?"

"I'm heading up to Ecruteak to challenge the gym leader there. It'll be my first Johto gym badge."

"I'm heading up there, too," Alisa said. "Would you like to walk together?" Seeing Hollis's fearful expression and quick glance down at a glowering Weavile, she laughed and assured him that Weavile would be in her pokeball.

"So," Hollis started, turning to face north along with Alisa, "what's it like in Unova?"

If Route 39's rolling hills and pleasant sea breezes were pretty, then Ecruteak City was gorgeous. Several centuries-old buildings stood among modern highrises and stores, yet the city still retained all of its historic charm. Most notably, two towers rose high above the rest of the city- or that would have been the case, Johto's Places and People! Guide informed us, if the tower farthest west hadn't burned down. It wasn't a recent fire; it was plenty obvious from a distance that several years of rain and snow had taken their toll on the once-proud building, but that only seemed to give it more character. However, none of these things were on Aleise's or Hollis's minds. They were focused on the Ecruteak City gym, on the south side of town.

It was 2 'o clock in the afternoon when the duo arrived in Ecruteak, both eager for the gym battle that lay ahead. Hollis immediately- and predictably; he was never one to linger on tourist attractions- headed for the gym. His excitement had built and built for the last two days, and he could stand it no longer. The doors swung wide open as he stepped in, looking as ready to battle as an angry gyarados.

"I'm here for my badge, Morty!" he hollered, met by silence.

Several elders meditating in the gym snapped out of their trances and looked up at the overexcited trainer. Hollis blushed in embarrassment, but nevertheless began pestering the mediums about the gym leader's whereabouts. Almost as if on cue, two silhouettes appeared in a thick cloud of smoke that smelled like pot as a door in the back of the gym opened.

The duo, already a bit creeped out by their surroundings, could hear two obnoxious voices giggling that unnerved them even more. "Um... Should we come back later?" Hollis asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, man," one voice drawled, "we got enough Mary Jane to go around! Come smoke some with us!"

"Uh... What?" he asked.

"Oh Hell yeah! I'm in," Alisa said, dashing through the cloud of smoke, only to find the floors missing in action. Screaming at the top of her lungs, the trainer fell to what would have been her death- if something hadn't warped her to the ceiling and dropped her at the entrance of the gym. She cursed loudly as she fell flat on the cold tile, threatening everyone within a five-mile radius with a string of incomprehensible threats.

Hollis, a bit frightened after seeing that scene play out before him, watched in awe as the pungent smoke dissipated and revealed a young man in his early twenties, with sandy-blonde hair, a black sweater, white pants and the most shocking violet eyes he'd ever seen on anyone. True to his guidebook's description, it was indeed the gym leader Morty standing before him, though he was missing his signature headband and scarf. A faint smile played on his lips and a hint of amusement shone in his eyes.

"Gets 'em every time," he snickered. "So, you said something about a gym battle?"

So, first chapter. And it's only one in the morning! 8D

Sorry it's a little short... and kind of sketchy. My younger brother and I are test-piloting this fic to see if we should continue with it, and I kind of like it so far. Feedback is appreciated very much.

I can't think of a better title right now, so I'm titling it "Zephyr" as a reference to Johto's winds. It has nothing to do with the first badge.

Oh, and I may accept OCs later on, but I'm not sure yet. What do you guys think?