A/N: Written for the Advent Character Challenge on the RLt, and for the Indigo League Challenge on the PMF, Viridian Forest Task (repeat).
Milestones
I – The First
Before he turned ten, he had decided a lot of things.
He had decided he would be a Gym Leader like his father. That changed when he witnessed his father's defeat; even at the hands of a trainer he had come to admire and respect, that defeat set a threshold that he had to transcend. And so he decided he would be a better Gym leader than his father. And that decision stayed.
He had decided what his starter Pokemon would be in the Winter before his sister obtained her license. And that decision didn't change when he met them all: his sister's Torchic, his idol's Treeko, and his mentor's Mudkip. It just made him love all those Pokemon more – and confirmed the choice he had made.
He had decided which regions to visit, which leagues to enter and in what order. Hoenn first, of course, and then Kanto: the two regions he knew best. Johto was third on his list: the place his sister had chosen for her walkabout and her dream's fulfilment.
He had even decided a few of the Pokemon he wanted to catch. A Ralts who called across the country to him. A Shroomish running amuck through a wild forest. A Shuppet that laughed and loved tricks.
But when the time for that first decision came, he felt hesitation in that decision he had made years ago – and then a sense of excitement and fulfilment as he took his first step as a licensed Pokemon trainer with his new Treeko by his side.
Doing something wasn't the same as deciding to do it, but he still felt that decision he had made before was the right one, and he didn't regret it.