This is my story of Mark Hilton. He is a black belt student of the dojo who leaves on his Pokémon journey after qualifying. I thought it would be interesting for him to do his gym battles in a different order, as I am very used to seeing stories with the classis Pallet start. This is my first story and its purpose is merely to explore an idea I find interesting and worth pursuing. I hope you enjoy it and will post ideas or just your general thoughts on the story.

Chapter 1 – The journey begins

To anyone passing by the dojo just outside Saffron City, it was just a normal day. The sun was shining, fellow citizens were walking and playing with their Pokémon, nothing was out of the ordinary routine of Kanto life. However, for the dojo and its residents, it was a day of joy as the latest batch of trainees took their mastery exam. Every single one of them had passed and been awarded the black belt. They were now full members of the dojo, equal in standing to the fellows who trained there and represented an ancient tradition.

Master Kodil looked over the dojo floor forcing down the enormous smile that threatened to shatter his stern reputation. It was a rare occasion and equally rare joy to see all students pass the exam and join their society. Standing before the kneeling students, he took pride in the opportunity to deviate from his usual speech, which addressed failed students as well as successful.

"It gives me great pride and joy to welcome you all as full members of the dojo. You have done both yourselves and us great honour by striving hard and working tirelessly. It has been over 10 years since we conducted an exam where all our trainees passed. As part of this special group, I hope you will pass on what you have learned. I know you will bring our dojo great honour."

The Master was going to go on but realised in his pride, he could go on for quite some time.

"I now welcome you as members of the dojo, please stand amongst us as equals!"

As one, the group of eight stood and smiled wide grins at each other tempered by the discipline they felt the need to show in front of their Master. Each of them stood proud with their heads held high with their black belts on display for all to see. The logo of the dojo, a black, tribal patterned fist adorned the left corner of their simple white gi, right above the heart.

"Come now, let us share this excellent news with our friends," the Master spoke with a grin as he led them through the backdoor where the larger training area was.

The new black belts had to stop themselves from running wildly through the door. As soon as they had passed, eight Pokémon were waiting just outside with eager attention. The Pokémon were all fighting types namely mankey, machop and one machoke. Seeing no need to make the tension any heavier, Master Kodil announced simply "They all passed."

The result was exactly as he imagined as the Pokémon finally let loose the energy they had kept in with strict discipline. After a roar of triumph and beating of the chests, they had virtually tackled each of their respective trainers in celebration. The joyous faces of both trainers and Pokémon were truly a remarkable sight for the master. There was little worse than delivering news of one trainee failing where others had passed. This was especially so as the Pokémon always passed their tests, they were simply too talented in the martial arts. It was in their blood to be great at fighting, instinct allowed them to understand the instructions with next to no explanation.

Turning his eye to one pair in particular, Master Kodil observed Mark Hilton with his partner Mankey. The boy had come to the dojo with such anger and such sadness yet now stood proud with joy and discipline. As much as Mark loved the dojo, even seeing it as home, the Master knew today was the day Mark would leave for his journey. Many stayed in order to train further, some stayed in order to become instructors, some even stayed due to their Pokémon's wishes but Mark had always known his path was outside the dojo. He would have left at 10 had the dojo made facilities available but he had patiently waited until the greater age of 16 just to remain part of the dojo.

There were many ranches in Kanto where Pokémon were taken care of once a trainer had passed their limit of six. Almost every major city had one. The dojo was a special case. Despite being in the jurisdiction of Saffron City, they operated their own ranch, which could cater for any type of Pokémon. Their only rule was you had to be a full member of the dojo to use the ranch, which meant becoming a black belt and accepting the responsibilities that came with it. Mark Hilton had decided to delay his journey through Kanto in order to use the dojo's ranch and have a permanent place there. He wanted to ensure the dojo could remain his home. Though the Master by no means favoured Mark over other students, he had gained respect from all his peers for making that decision.

As expected, after an hour of celebrating with everyone else in the dojo, Mark approached the Master and gave a respectful bow. "Master Kodil, I have decided to leave the dojo to journey throughout Kanto. This place has been a home for myself and Mankey for so long and we are very grateful. I will proudly travel Kanto as a representative of our great tradition. Before we leave, we would like your permission to use the dojo's ranch as we encounter new friends."

It was a well-practiced speech, one that every member of the dojo had seen coming. Before the Master could reply, the other members and Pokémon had shuffled behind him in a formal structure all looking at mark with pride. Smiling softly, the Master gave his equally rehearsed response "I wish you and Mankey good fortune on your travels Mark. I know you will bring great honour to dojo. You are of course welcome to use the ranch; we look forward to seeing your new friends."

Mark bowed again respectfully and turned to leave with nothing else needing to be voiced. As he reach the exit, he turned once more and bowed to the rest of the gym. "I will miss you all but I will return. Mankey and I shall not forget any of you."

The Mankey beside him seemed to share his feelings but instead of a reserved discipline, gave a mighty roar and raised his fist in the air. The other Pokémon roared in approving response wishing them the best of luck. Pokémon had a curious effect on people; their free nature could rub off on the most disciplined of trainers. The black belts of the dojo were no exception as they roared and clapped all wishing Mark well.

With a final smile on his face, Mark and Mankey looked at each other before dashing out the door towards Saffron City, where their journey would begin.

Mark and Mankey had only run for a few minutes before they slowed to a walk as the gates of Saffron City came into view. They looked at each other and exchanged a smile before continuing their slow march to the city.

"It was worth the wait don't you think?" Mankey grunted, affirming his trainer's view. Although Mankey had loved the dojo where he could train and fight other fighting type Pokémon, he knew his trainer's desire to travel and see Kanto. At first, Mankey had felt rather indifferent to seeing more of the region but now he felt excited and could barely retain his desire to dash ahead. The possibilities of training in areas his comrades had never seen and fighting the strongest Pokémon called his spirit like nothing else.

Mark observed his partner in amusement. He had trained with Mankey since he was 9 years old. The dojo took in any fighting Pokémon that wished to train as well as abandoned or injured Pokémon. Mankey in his youth had been a capricious little thing with no discipline but an overactive zest for life. He simply did as he pleased and damn the consequences. On one particular day, Mark had trained to exhaustion before Mankey had decided to prey upon him. One of Mark's few possessions was a chain around his neck, which held the dog tags of his deceased father. His father had been a well-decorated soldier in the Kanto army. He had met Mark's mother during a rescue mission where she had been confined in a Pokémon Centre where she trained under Nurse Joy. What was a perilous, harsh and terrifying situation had blossomed into a story of love between the two. Unfortunately, the exact scenario had arisen just 3 years later where their story ended leaving Mark as their surviving child. It was therefore no surprise that Mark cherished his father's dog tags as one of his only keepsakes. As it so happened, Mankey was rather taken with the shiny chain and spotting Mark's weakened state, decided to take them. To this day, Mark was still uncertain if Mankey enjoyed taunting him more than having the chain itself. Either way, it had taken him days to catch Mankey where he had beaten the poor Pokémon relentlessly before successfully rescuing his possession. It had been the start of a great rivalry between the two as they spent an entire month exchanging hateful glares and packed punches. Mark generally came out the loser much to Mankey's delight. After that month, they had been in one particularly brutal bout when one of the black belts had intervened having had enough of the drama. To both Mark and Mankey's surprise, it turned out Mankey had not known the Mark's story since Mark had also been quick to start fights. Whilst they still fought on occasion, their rivalry had turned into a friendship and they soon trained together to the point where they were recognised as partners.

After talking and joking for a while, they finally entered Saffron City. They had both been many times mainly to pick up supplies for the dojo. This time, they were going to Pokémon Centre where they would register for the Pokémon league. For some time, Mark had wanted to join the Kanto army in honour of his father. His guardian, who had told him rather abruptly that the Kanto army was now obsolete, ended that idea. Ever since the war ended, the Pokémon league had taken charge of protecting the region mainly utilising the Elite 4 and Ace Trainers. The idea of having a protecting role as well as becoming a strong trainer appealed to all of Mark's desires so he swore to himself he would one day become an Ace Trainer if not an Elite 4 member.

"Hello Mark, how can I help you today?" asked the smiling Nurse Joy. Mark felt his spirits soar instantly. There was something special about the smiles the Nurses Joy gave. They were warm, inviting and gave the sense of utter acceptance.

"Greetings Nurse Joy, I would like to register for the Pokémon League," Mark replied in a strong determined voice full of conviction. His journey was finally beginning. Beside him, Mankey was also looking forward with a fierce determination, which looked somewhat scary. An excellent aspect of the dojo's training was Mankey was disciplined in these situations. He still looked upon the last time Nurse Joy had caught him causing havoc with much fear.

"Oh, that's excellent news Mark. Congratulations on becoming a black belt," Nurse Joy said with her enchanting smile once again. Whilst she was entering Mark's details in the system, Mark took the moment to marvel just how nice Nurse Joy was. It never ceased to amaze him how she was related to the Nurse Joy who had trained his own mother. She even looked exactly like that Nurse Joy!

"There you go; you're registered in the system now." Handing Mark his trainer card, she gave him a final smile before saying, "Good luck with your journey, do come back and visit when you decide to take on the Saffron Gym."

"Thank you Nurse Joy, we will," replied Mark as he marvelled at Nurse Joy's astute observations. With no specific information, it seemed she knew exactly where Mark was headed first and knew he would not be taking on the Saffron Gym first.

"Let's go Mankey, Vermillion City awaits!"