A/N: Lets pretend that 10 year olds don't leave home. That is retarded. Who the fuck lets their kid leave home at 10? Irresponsible crack parents. That is who. That is the one canon change in this fic (that is on purpose). Enjoy.

"Kupi! Behind you! Dodge!"

The small bird of varying shades of brown, known by it's species as a Pidgey, turned midair and avoided the tendril of sparks that lanced by it, singing its feathers. Electricity was the avian Pokemon's worst enemy, and it knew to give the small yellow rodent on the ground no mercy if it wanted to emerge uninjured.

"Kupi! Let's finish this up! Tackle!"

For the last ten minutes, Kupi and her trainer had been lulling the Pikachu and his trainer into a trap. While whirling and dodging around the electric mouse's electricity, Kupi had been (as trained) rising higher and higher. The Pikachu's electricity stores were nearly out, another added bonus to the plan. Now the bird (a brown blur at this point) shot down like a bullet towards the yellow mouse, only occasionally swerving back and forth to dodge the small streams of pathetic sparks that the electric type released, although it was weak enough that they probably wouldn't really hurt her beyond a stinging annoyance.

From her high altitude, it made her body slam all the more devastating. The Pikachu, already tired due to its overuse of its electrical abilities, was knocked out easily by the attack. The Pikachu's trainer, a group of trainer usually referred to as a "Youngster," bowed his head and groaned, returning the Pikachu to its Pokeball, back into stasis. The trainer of the bird was rather surprised, most trainers checked on their Pokemon first before recalling them. The boy looked young though, she wasn't shocked.

The Pidgey's trainer, however, was quite jubilant. The Pidgey, having landed after the knocking the Pikachu out, hopped over to its trainer, cooing for approval. When it reached its trainer, the girl kneeled down. She looked about 17, and was simply clothed in a yellow sundress. The sun was shaded from her face by a wide-brimmed sun hat, which covered a cascade of semi-wavy brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her deep brown eyes were in an expression of victorious glee, with her mouth in a tight but happy smile, all set on a pretty but relatively average face. She reached out with a pale still-shaky-from-nerves hand. The sun bounced off the paleness of her skin, and was almost uncomfortable to look at.

"Kupi, you did so great! You did it even better than training!" She stroked the attention-seeking bird's back. Sunday was lucky that her avian's only needed reward was attention, most other trainers needed to provide treats or toys, but Sunday's primary and only Pokemon was cheap. Standing, Sunday turned to face her opponent with Kupi on her shoulder, shading herself from the summer sun under her hat. She extended her hand again, now under control, to the shorter boy. He looked surprised for a moment, most trainers weren't such good sports, and reached out his hand as well. They embraced hands, shook for a second, and went their separate ways. She didn't even really know who the boy was.

So went the life of a trainer.

"...and just when I thought all was lost, Kupi swoops down, and BAM!" Sunday exclaimed to the enraptured children surrounding her, "The Pikachu was knocked right out!"

The children all around her were in total attention, gasped at just the right places, whispered little 'oh-no"s when all seemed lost, and now, at the end of the rendition, clapped and cheered exuberantly. As exuberantly as a classroom setting would allow. They were in the kindergarten room of the Lavender Academy, which had a name that made it sound much more important than the six roomed wooden structure that it was. The Academy had about 100 students ranging from the ages of 5-17 who were well on their way to earning their Gym Challenge License. These kids wouldn't get their first Pokemon until they were 10.

It was a smaller school in comparison to most of the other Pokemon Academies across the Pokemon League regions of the world, but it was much larger than the smaller Academies you would find in towns like Pallet, or New Bark. Lavender Academy wasn't very distinguished, and it was one of the Academies that had the fewest alumni earn a badge at one point in their lives. Lavender Town was more famous for it's many Pokemon Graveyards and the Pokemon Tower. The only famous people from Lavender were usually powerful Ghost-type trainers, and it was hard to catch ghost types. Sunday wasn't holding out hope for becoming a Ghost-specialist, she found them exceptionally creepy.

The children all moaned as the teacher walked into the room, signaling the end of their recess period, and also showing that Sunday was to return to her instructional room. They enjoyed the times that she came to the room, Sunday didn't come every day. She liked to come a couple times a week to help out the teacher Ms. Linske, she was an older woman and Sunday knew that she was often tired out by the young charges she had. She was trailed by her Baltoy, a Pokemon that was exceptionally rare for the Kanto region. When she was younger she used to harbor a secret desire to become a Pokemon instructor just like Ms. Linske, but she had given up that dream long ago. Instructors were usually well traveled trainers, Ms. Linske was from the Hoenn region and had even won a few badges, or so she had said to Sunday a few times. That was the least of credentials that most Academies required of their instructors, and Sunday didn't hold illusions of becoming much. She was unsure of what she would do after she got her Licence, but on all sides of Lavender there were Cities with gyms, so her choices were many. Sunday didn't hold high hopes about defeating some of the gym challenges, but she could still dream and plan. Becoming lost in her thoughts about her future, she was startled back to reality by a small nudge and smile from Ms. Linske. Sunday gave her a thankful nod as the elderly woman adjusted her horn rimmed spectacles, and she scooted off to her classroom.

Sunday was able pull off another Pokemon battle on her way home, she took down a traveling Hiker's Machop with ease, she did have the type advantage and the thing was more a brawn than a brain. Sunday was happy that she was already able to beat most unbadged trainers that came through Lavender, she had nearly graduated. There would be a tournament in about a week, and the winner got a good prize, some money and trainer supplies. Sunday wasn't too worried about that, she already had the money for most of the things she would need, although it wouldn't hurt to get the extra boost. She was more concerned about the people watching. In nearly every town and city there was an Academy, graduation tournaments were incredibly popular, and in a rural area like Lavender where not much happened, everyone was certain to attend. Having that many spectators was enough to make Sunday nervous as it was, but this was also the final evaluation for each and every student, win or lose their skills and ability to cope under pressure was tested. Most graduated, but there were always the whispers every year of those few who did not.

There was also the problem of what her second Pokemon would be. It was the main pressures of the final test, all participants in the tournament had to catch a Pokemon and use it along with the one they were already allowed to have. They had about to a week to train these new additions, and although great things weren't expected from the trainers, it certainly was the only true test they had. Sunday had changed her plans for her second addition at least six times.

Sunday finished her thoughts of uncertainty as she reached the top of the long staircase that lead to her front door. She had long ago learned that her mother was good at picking out when she was worried or upset, so she had learned to school her emotions. It was hard to believe that in about a month, it would be a long time until she saw this house again. It was a normal two story home, painted brown with the paint peeling from age, her family had lived here for a few generations. She entered the front door, and smelled the delicious smell of home cooking. She would surely miss that when she left as well. She put a smile on her face, and went to enjoy a home life while she had one.

Every night Sunday studied. She knew that she wouldn't probably get even one badge, but she so desperately needed to try. She didn't want to get stuck in Lavender, like most everyone who grew up here did. The only thing to do in Lavender was to work in odd shops here and there, but mostly temples, shrines, and graveyards. Sunday wanted to live life for along while before, if ever, she returned here. So that is why every night, for an hour or two while the rest of the house was asleep and her chores were done, she would look over her books, looking for facts that she had by this time mostly memorized. It meant usually being tired the next day, but she hoped that it would be worth it.

It was rather dull, and sometimes she just felt like screaming, but whenever she felt that way, Kupi would usually hop over from her perch on the other side of the room, and let Sunday remember that she wasn't alone by pressing her warm feathered body up against her. Kupi never slept if Sunday wasn't sleeping first. If Sunday had one word to describe Kupi, it was loyal. Many Pokemon didn't give the smallest bit of care to their trainers other than a source of treats and attention. Sunday truly knew how lucky she was to catch such an intelligent and wonderful Pidgey.

So she read into the early hours of the morning with her little bird on her lap, reciting to her loyal companion the many common characteristics and attacks of rock Pokemon, and how to deal with them.

A week had passed since the night that Sunday had studied Rock Pokemon, and although she had grown more nervous as the days passed, the day that she was to catch her second Pokemon she woke with a strange calm. Kupi seemed upbeat as well, she had obviously noticed Sunday's changed temperament, and she was obviously happy about it.

"Well Kupi," said Sunday to her always listening never speaking partner, "I realized before I fell asleep last night, trainers really don't ever know for sure what they are going to do next right?"

Kupi cooed a noise that could have been an agreement, or could have just been a noise that a bird makes.

"Right. They have general plans, but they never for sure know what is going to happen. That is how today is. I know for mostlies what I will accept and won't accept, and we'll just have to deal... just try to be nice to your new teammate, alright?"

Kupi cooed again, although in Sunday's mind, it sounded a little less compliant than her previous noise. Sunday couldn't blame her though, she had Kupi since she was about ten years old, and she was probably nervous if not more than Sunday herself, of not being the only team member now. She would have to get over it, because if Sunday could help it, her next Pokemon wouldn't be the last addition to her team. Today Sunday wore one of her trademark sun dresses, she was one of the only serious trainers in Lavender to not have donned more specialized clothing. The light green dress reached her mid-calf, and was loose and billowy, but tight around the waist. She slung her satchel over her shoulder, grabbed her sunhat, and left the house. To catch her second pokemon, she had to schedule an appointment with the Academy, they would send a random instructor with her, to make sure she actually caught a Pokemon, and to make sure that it was the same one that she would be using in a week.

It normally took about forty five minutes for Sunday to walk from her home, and across the rural landscape. She noted that Kupi seemed excited, rather than staying on her shoulders or flying lazy circles far above her, she was flying all over the place in a playful manner, although she stayed within sight of Sunday. Sunday marveled at the surroundings that played around her while she walked. She saw Caterpie, Spearow, and even a Pikachu, and she wondered if any of those would be the Pokemon that she caught. Her spirits certainly had raised from earlier this week. The sun was just beginning to peek above the mountains that surrounded the valley that Lavender was in, and Sunday realized that she wanted to run. Although her clothes weren't quite practical for a trainer, Sunday had long ago learned that in most trainer situations, cute shoes didn't work out, but did keep her white sneakers nice and clean. Kupi caught up in her exhalation, and flew slightly ahead of her. Although she was quickly out of breath, she began to laugh as she ran, her dress billowing in combination of her running and the wind made her feel like a Pidgey herself. Much sooner than usual, the Academy loomed in front of her, and she took a moment to gather herself.

When she stopped, Kupi landed on her shoulder, and she petted her soft feathers for a moment before walking into the building.

It was immediately a good start, Ms. Linske was waiting for her inside. Sunday knew that she had a Baltoy, but she also saw a new Pokemon with her, an older but obviously still strong and proud Persian. In her short conversations with her, Linske had mentioned to Sunday that she had more than just her main Pokemon Baltoy, but she never seen them. The old woman smiled, tucking one of the many strands of hair that had fell out of her bun behind her ear.

"I usually don't supervise these trips... but think of this as a small thank you for all the help you have given me over the past few years." The old woman smiled at Sunday, and she noted that she was dressed differently than normal. Rather than her pantsuits and power suits, she was wearing a black sweater with a shawl, and a long billowy skirt, giving her much more of a grandma look to her. Sunday liked this look more, she felt more safe.

The woman began to explain the rules of the next few hours, even though Sunday had read the rules and even read many accounts of other famous trainers' versions of this day many times. She would be allowed to use her one Pokemon (Kupi) until she either 1. caught a Pokemon, or 2. her Pokemon was knocked out. Upon the moment that her Pokemon was knocked out, her instructor would weaken the Pokemon for her, but Sunday would still have to throw the ball herself. Although there was still a chance for Sunday to graduate if Kupi was knocked out, it would make her have to work very hard during the tournament section. She was provided with Ultra Balls for this section, which increased her chances of successfully capturing something. This was a test in knowing how to do this, not necessarily being good at it.

"Shall... shall we begin?" Sunday said, swallowing to clear a lump of nervousness which suddenly had choked her up.

Linske giggled. "Of course."

One thing that the Lavender Academy gave Sunday that she was certain that trainers in the big city Academies didn't have was an awareness of the wilderness. Long before the Academy had taught her how to find and track Pokemon, Sunday and her friends had enjoyed a life of exploring the woods. She remembered being five with her cousin and tracking a family of Caterpie across one of the many forests which surrounded Lavender. Luckily Butterfree didn't do much other than spray Stun Spores onto the girls, but it had been a long night while unable to move. They had developed a sense of where Pokemon were... and when to leave them alone because of that incident. Because of this sense, Sunday knew which areas she wanted to avoid. Although she liked Caterpie, one would be hard to train to match the other Pokemon in the week before the tournament. Weedle were stronger, but still not quite good enough. She only needed one Pidgey, and she felt that Kupi might get jealous with another Avian-type Pokemon. She was also afraid to catch anything that might scare Kupi, so Pikachu's with their type advantage was something she didn't want to risk. That left her few options, but Sunday knew where most trainers didn't tread in the area, where the more rare varieties tended to gather.

She and Ms. Linske waded through an army of Caterpies, Bellsprout (not mobile enough for Sunday's taste), a rare Growlithe (although incredibly obedient and loyal when trained, they were hard to use upon first capturing them, and she didn't have the time), and she saw a Surskit but it quickly escaped. After she had chased the Surskit for about ten minutes and Kupi lost sight of it, she sat down on a log, depressed. She had read that it was hard, but she just hadn't realized before. She had just gone out and got the first Pokemon she saw in the case of Kupi, she didn't know how hard this was. Ms. Linske, in incredibly good spirits (and apparently shape, since she had kept up with Sunday perfectly) plopped her frail looking frame down next to the girl.

Sunday hung her head in shame. She knew it would be a bit of a search to find the right Pokemon, but she didn't think it would be this hard. Some of those Bellsprout were starting to look mighty good. She suddenly heard a noise that she thought might be that Growlithe growling. Until she realized that it was her stomach.

"Did you bring any food?" Linske said offhandedly. Sunday hadn't, she thought that she would be in and out. Her mother had even knowingly offered to pack her a lunch the night before, but Sunday had confidently turned it down.

Linske just smiled in a grand motherly fashion, as she reached into her bag and pulled out four sandwiches and a quartz crystal. She gave Sunday and Kupi one each, kept one for herself and gave one to her Persian. She pressed the crystal into the chest of her Baltoy, the surface of which rippled with psychic power, and it sunk into it. Sunday watched with awe, and all her worries were forgotten.

"These two are all I have left you know. I've only ever had four. Tops here was my first of course." She patted her Baltoy's head in an endearing way. She was speaking in a voice that drew Sunday in, it was a storyteller's voice. "Then I got good old Precious here. Found him as a Meowth kitten rummaging in the garbage in Slateport. Was so proud of him when he won the Heat Badge all by himself! Evolved right after that battle you know. I won a Staryu from a Game Corner. Gave it to my niece in Cerulean. I didn't use it that much, and I'm bad at taking care of water Pokemon. I used to have a Seaking too, named Bass Mouth. Had an awful temperament, got worse as he got older. Ended up releasing him in the Water Sanctuary in Cerulean, I check on him now and again. The thing about them Sunday, is that I worked hard for them all. Tops here took me two days to find. I'm not saying take two days, but be patient." Sunday finally remembered why they were out here, Linske's hand on her shoulder gently pulling her back to reality. Sunday smiled at Linske, her story definitely gave her the heart to continue on.

"Before we start to search again... how many badges do you have?" Sunday asked. She had only heard Linske mention it off-handedly before, she never knew how many for certain she actually had. Linske opened her shawl, and pinned to the inside was four badges. Sunday's eyes shot up, and her mouth opened a little bit.

"Stone, Knuckle, Heat, and Balance. Me and my party worked hard for that. Now close your mouth dear, lets go find you another partner." Linske stood, and Sunday rose with her.

They had walked another hour, this time in much higher spirits, when they heard a sound that Sunday didn't recognize. It was a buzzing noise, and it wasn't anything she had ever heard before. Liske couldn't hear it, but admitted that her hearing wasn't as good as it used to be. However, as they got closer and Liske began to be able to hear bits of things, she placed a hand on Sunday's shoulder.

"Careful now. That buzzing is either... a Beedril, or perhaps Combee, colony. I recognize that buzzing now. If its Combee we'll be fine, they're nice and don't really mind being caught, they're docile. Just hold up something sweet, and they'll come right to you. Weedles and Beedrils are dangerous though. More likely to be one of those, Combee have been mostly domesticated for their honey... we can try though." Liske said, implying that she hoped for the best, but to express caution. She began rummaging in her bag.

"I have some candy here somewhere... that should be good enough for a stray Combee." She handed her a chocolate bar, which admittedly was something Sunday wanted to keep for herself just a bit. She might have snuck a little bit of it if she wasn't afraid that a little missing chocolate would scare away the possible Combee that awaited her. She knew they weren't seen in this area, catching one would be a super rare scoop. They weren't super strong, but they could fly agilely, and they took orders well.

As they got closer to the source of the buzzing, it grew unbelievably loud. It was coming from a clearing up ahead, but aside from flashes of yellow through the trees, she couldn't see anything. She was set to just walk right into the clearing, when she felt Liske firmly grab the back of her dress and pull her back. The old woman opened her mouth, obviously yelling something, but it was drowned out by the buzzing. She looked frustrated for a moment, but just pointed to the chocolate bar.

Sunday didn't get it, but she opened the chocolate bar, thinking maybe she would understand if the wrapper was off somehow. For a moment from the corner of her eye, Sunday thought she saw a single Beedril bulleting for her. She would have loved to catch one, but she was pretty sure Kupi would be in serious danger. She was relieved when she realized that her dreams were coming true and that it was in fact a Combee.

And it was a female, lucky her. She could tell by the pinkish area on what she guessed she would call its forehead. Lucky because she didn't want a male, the males didn't evolve.

It hovered in front of her arm, licking and nibbling the chocolate. Liske grabbed Sunday's other wrist, and started pulling her away from the clearing. When the buzzing was nearly gone from their ears and the chocolate ran out, the Combee began to circle around Sunday, expecting more.

"I don't even think it will resist, just press the ball gently against its body, don't throw it. May startle it. It will probably be less freaked out if you press it against the honeycomb part. What a lucky second Pokemon. You find them all over Sinnoh, but almost never here." The old woman looked wistful as she kneeled and scratched behind the ear of Precious.

She did just that. The button clicked, and as little yellow Pokemon turned into red energy, it made a happy little noise, obviously expecting much more sweet treats. Sunday smiled. If she played her cards right, she might just win the entire graduation tournament. Her and Linske began the long trek back to the Academy.

On the long walk back to the Academy (Linske apologized profusely, saying she hadn't realized how far out they had gone) Sunday debated what to name the Combee. She had an hour and a half to decide. When she had named Kupi, she had been ten years old, imitating a noise of surprise that the Pidgey had made two days after being caught. She didn't much feel like naming her Combee "Bzzzz," the only noise that she knew Combee made.

"I can't really help you on that, every trainer has their own themes or styles for names." Linske said regretfully when Sunday finally asked her. "A tip I can give you though, do you want to name it for the form of Combee, or do you want to try to evolve it in the future and name it in hopes of that? Mind you, I have to register it's name in the computer system when we get back, so hurry up."

That was an aspect Sunday had not thought about. She knew little about Vespiquen, other than that it was one of the stronger bug types.

Did she want a cute name for her new addition? Or a cool one? Maybe a beautiful name would be better. Sunday was overwhelmed. Her new Pokemon would be using this name for the rest of it's life. If she took two days to find a cute name for Kupi, how long would she take to pick this one? Well she only had about a half an hour left, so it wouldn't take two days.

She released the Combee from its ball. Most Pokemon were surly when first released, Kupi had straight up refused to get down from the rafters of her room for a day, but the Combee sweetly buzzed around her, looking for more sweets. Not finding any, the Combee went to placidly floating around her. Sunday sighed in relief, this Pokemon seemed to have a pretty good temperament. Even when she reached out her hand to gently touch the Pokemon's wax shield, the Combee didn't seem to care.

"I... I want to avoid common names, like Honey, or Comb, or Bee, or Queen." Sunday mused out loud to Combee, and to a degree she was also seeking approval from Linske. "I was thinking taking a trait I want you to have Ms. Combee... and making it pretty or something. Victory? Victoria? No, fancy human names on Pokemon usually weird me out. Queenial? No, that is strange. Regal. I want you to be a regal Vespiquen. Regalia?" Sunday thought to herself for a moment, and Linske looked side-long at her.

"I like that name for a Vespiquen, but for a Combee it is a bit fancy." She said to Linske after a few thoughtful seconds. Linske just smiled. "Okay, Regalia it is."

The Combee didn't seem to acknowledge that an important moment had occurred. It just made a happy chattering noise.

And Regalia happily whizzed around.