Disclaimer: Wishhy does not own Pokemon, she is only an avid fan. However, she does own the characters of Lizzie, April, Hayley and Sav. :D The lyrics posted at the beginning of the chapters are there purely for inspiration, copyrighted to the musicians who wrote them down.


Once upon a time there were four friends. How many times have you heard that line? Once or twice for me, to be honest. Sometimes there's hardships and trouble but the endings of this line are usually happy. Yet, once upon a time, all things were full of joy, rainbows, Psyduck slippers and an Oddish plushie. Before long, the outrageous Lizzie Cotton, the sensible April Hath, the terror Hayley Breaker and myself, Savannah Vere discovered what our lives were about to become and what would make or break us once we were set free. The four of us were turning fifteen throughout the year and finally, someone thought to tell us of what we had been missing for the past five to six years. We discovered the adventures that lie with being Pokemon trainers.


'If I could then I'd shrink the world tonight, so that I could find you and me inside.'

- Yellowcard

Watching the squidgy clouds move absentmindedly across the strong blue sky calmed my mind. I wasn't really thinking about any in particular as I stretched out on the grass in my front lawn. There were a lot of thoughts running through my head, mostly about my friends and leaving Littleroot Town.

We had all talked it over during an afternoon at Lizzie's. There were only three Pokemon ready for beginning trainers at Professor Birch's lab but there were four of us, and a few more kids who had been in the same class as us for as long as I could remember wanting to leave as soon as possible too. So that left a problem.

Professor Birch had more contacts than I'd thought though. He had managed to arrange for the official starter Pokemon from other regions to be brought into Hoenn, which, in my eyes, made Professor Birch my hero. I felt pretty happy inside knowing that all of us would get a Pokemon and be able to leave instead of waiting months apart.

April had said she'd read about Professor Oak in the Littleroot Listener and how he was establishing a breeding programme. That's where all the starter Pokemon came from.

As the long grass tickled my ears, I knew deep down that it was time to leave. This part of my life, surrounded and protected by my family and laughing and having fun with my best friends, it was all over. For now.


The lab was intimidating. Huge and white, it towered over me. I was intrigued though. I could hear Lizzie and Hayley inside, being both loud girls.

I knocked sharply on the door and took a step back. Hearing my friends voices, I suddenly felt overcome with relief. We'd get through this together. We'd journey together. Nothing would change.

Very soon, the door opened and revealed a shy and reserved looking man wearing a white lab coat that coincided with the whiteness of the lab itself.

"Ms. Vere?" he asked in his quiet voice, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Er," I started. "Yeah, I'm here for my Pokemon?" I continued, questioning the assistant. Finally, the moment was arriving.

"Yes, yes," He mumbled, stepping back to let me through. "Right this way please."

I followed the assistant through the corridor and into another room, the main research room. Around a small circular table stood Lizzie and Hayley as they waited for Professor Birch. When my friends noticed I had arrived, their faces broke out in smiles and I grinned. This was going to be a grand adventure. Only April was missing now.

"Sav, what took you so long?" Hayley cried, dropping her satchel on the shiny floor to hug me. "Lizzie and I didn't know if we could wait any longer,"

I grinned again, watching my two friends bubble with excitement.

"I was day dreaming, sorry." I replied, tying the brown mess I called my hair into an untidy bun.

"Are you ready to leave?" Lizzie asked, a slightly worried look in her eyes. Lizzie wasn't the most confident person in the world but I was sure she'd be fine once she had her Pokemon.

"Well, I said a tearful goodbye to the family, checked a million times I had everything I needed..." I stopped, spotting the Professor coming into the room. "What else is there to do but get my Pokemon?"

"Too right Savannah," the hearty voice of Professor Birch filled the room. I smiled, surprised by the friendliness that radiated from the jolly man, but I was more focused on what he held in his arms. Pokeballs.

"Now girls," Professor Birch started after squeals of delights from Hayley, Lizzie and I. "Professor Oak, I hope you all know who he is, tranferred extra starter Pokemon who were part of his breeding programme. So, who wants which?"

That was it? We just choose? Professor Birch was pretty laid back. This was expected from him I guess. While I was day dreaming and trying to remember all the starter Pokemon in every region, Hayley had already chosen her Pokemon.

"Professor Birch, I choose Charmander!" she said triumphantly. She'd obviously done her homework, which was unlike Hayley.

"Very well then," the Professor replied and placed in Hayley's hands one of the red and white spheres. Hayley was practically glowing with excitement by then. So she'd chosen a fire type. That made my decision a bit easier. I'd been thinking about a fire type, but I couldn't choose the same as my best friend, could I?

Soon after that, Lizzie spoke up in a small voice.

"Um, Professor, could I have a Totodile?" She shifted her weight nervously as she waited for Professor Birch's answer.

"Sure, a Totodile was among the group transferred. I'll warn you now though, Totodile are prone to biting things, and this one is most eager to bite."

Lizzie giggled and looked at me, grinning. So, Hayley had a fire type and Lizzie now had a water type. Does that leave me with a grass type? And where the hell was April?

"Lizzie, where's April?" I asked, but she had already moved off to the other side of the room and had let the blue little crocodile out of it's Pokeball. It looked like things were going well for Lizzie and her Pokemon so far.

I turned around and watched Hayley finally let her Charmander out of it's Pokeball. It was not a pretty sight. The first thing the orange lizard Pokemon did was look around for a second, yell and scream for a few more seconds and then scorch Hayley's knees red raw. She didn't scream, but I could tell she was hurt that her Pokemon did that to her.

"You alright Hayley?" Professor Birch asked, smiling. "That Charmander definately has a personality. Then he turned to me. "So, what will it be Savannah?"

I thought for a bit, before saying "You know Professor Birch, I have no idea."

He frowned, then put the Pokeballs on the table. "Then use my favourite method of picking a starter Pokemon - A lucky dip!" The Professor laughed to himself, then went over to Hayley to help her with her Charmander, who looked defiant about getting back in his Pokeball.

I closely studied the Pokeballs on the table. Each one looked exactly the same. They rolled around a bit but they all looked exactly the same. How was I meant to choose? This was my partner Pokemon, and partners, from what I'd read, were important.

I wondered again about April and how late she was before I noticed the chip. The chip in the Pokeball. On the very top of one of the spheres, on the ruby red ball, was a small but noticable chip. Either the ball had been dropped many times or someone had tried to break it open, but there was definately a chip in the ball.

I picked it up, examining it closely. All thanks to my gut feelings, I knew this was the Pokemon for me. I slowly walked away from the table, staring at the Pokeball. The same line was running through my head. What Pokemon will come out of this ball? My partner Pokemon, who would it turn out to be?

I wondered if it could be better than Lizzie's Totodile, bonding with her already. It couldn't be worse than Hayley and her Charmander though, who kept rubbing her knees as she tried desperately to make friends with Charmander. I really didn't know where April was anymore.

My finger hovered over the small white button on the Pokeball. I was hesitant to press it. I closed my eyes and took a chance at a life changing moment. Time passed slowly as I kept my eyes shut. The noise of my friends and the Professor was blurred, constricted.

After about a million years though, I plucked up the courage and opened my eyes. What stood infront of me was my partner Pokemon. Small, pudgy and green. Almost a toxic green. It looked at me with deep red eyes and no expression on its face. A large-ish bulb sat on its back. I didn't know what to say.

"Er, hi?" I mumbled, looking awkwardly at the Pokemon.

"Bulba?"

He seemed just as confused as me. And where the hell was April?

A/N: So, first chapter. What will happen to Hayley and her uncooperative Charmander? Where exactly is April? How will Sav's lack of quick thinking affect her journey? Why is Lizzie suddenly best mates with her Totodile? Ooooh.. Anyway, I'm currently looking for OC's that have a very good chance of making it into the fic. So, send me a message or stick your OC's vitals in a review. Thanks! ~ Wishhy