I wake to the sound of my alarm going off. I reach for the clock and miss it, knocking it off the beside table.

I groan and get out of bed to go pick it up. I click the snooze button, 6:45am it reads. I can see the sunlight from outside peeking through the curtains.

"Better get going," I mumble to myself as I walk to the window, yawning.

"Up and at 'em," I throw the shades open and the morning sun fills the room, illuminating the few belongings I have as well as a sleeping Torchic.

"C'mon buddy," I pat the Torchic on the head, "Gotta wake up."

The Torchic blinks awake and chirps. Torchic's been my partner ever since I started at Ranger School back in Almia. I found him in the forest one day when we had a mock-patrol and he's stuck with me ever since. I haven't done much battle with him, so he may still be a bit on the squishy side.

But now I've moved on from Almia. I'm back in my home region of Hoenn, determined to become the greatest Pokemon Ranger in the world. What better way to do that then to challenge the Hoenn League and grow stronger alongside my Pokemon.

I minimize Torchic's pokeball and clip it to my belt, five slots remain empty. I haven't had the chance to expand my team since I've been putting so much time towards my schooling. Hopefully I'll be able to meet more Pokemon on my travels through Hoenn.

Torchic hops up and down, chirping to get my attention.

"Yes, yes," I pull out some Pokemon food from my bag, "here's your breakfast."

Torchic chirps happily as he munches down on the kibble-like food. I finish cleaning up the room I had rented for the night, folding up my clothes and packing away any belongings. I pick up my Styler from the bedside table and secure it around my forearm. I raise it to enable it, checking the capture disc for any damage. I just had this upgraded as a gift from my friends back at the Vientown Ranger Base.

"You done?" I ask my partner as I finish packing the last of my stuff, he hops around and pushes the empty bowl towards me. I smile and pack the bowl away. "Alright, time to head out."

I step out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind me. Torchic runs along beside my feet as I walk through the hall of the Pokecenter.

"Good morning, Nurse Joy," I say, "I'm here to return this." I place the room key on the counter.

"Good morning!" Nurse Joy says, "I hope you enjoyed your stay! We hope to serve you again!"

We wave goodbye and walk out the sliding doors and into Petalburg City. My hometown and the city I arrived in when I flew back from Almia after graduating from Ranger School. My first order of business is to travel to Littleroot Town, where I'll hopefully meet with Professor Birch, who's a famed professor studying Pokemon Habitats.

But first, breakfast.

I step out of the Pokemart with a breakfast sandwich in my hand and my bag restocked with any items I might need; pokeballs, potions, various medicines. Torchic and I make our way to the edge of the city, heading onto Route 102, the forest between Petalburg City and Oldale Town.

I fumble around with the empty pokeballs I keep clipped to my belt. As a Ranger, we didn't catch many Pokemon. We used our Capture Discs to get the assistance of wild Pokemon, allowing them to leave once our task was complete.

I take a bite out of my sandwich, I wonder how I'll balance out my team.

We enter the forest and take in the scenery around us. Seedot sit on the branches of the trees, alongside a few Silcoon and Cascoon. Wurmple and Zigzagoon frolic around in the tall grass just to the side of the path.

Everything is peaceful in the forest on this beautiful morning.

Then I hear a scream.

My mind immediately switches to all the training we did back at Ranger School and I activate my Styler. Torchic hops onto my shoulder and I run towards the scream.

I hop down a small ledge to a part of the forest which is a bit lower than the rest.

I duck around a few trees as I run off the beaten path and find a small pack of Poochyena surrounding a girl who's fallen and now backing off slowly. She has her hair tied back into a ponytail.

"Go, Capture Disc!" I shout as the disc ejects from my styler as I swing it around. It circles a few nearby Wurmple and I bring their attention to the pack of wolf Pokemon.

"Lend me your power," I say and focus on the pack of Poochyena, "String Shot!"

A silky projectile flies past me and ensnares one of the wolf Pokemon, the other two of which get angry and direct their attention towards me.

One lunges my way when I throw my capture disc around it. It circles the angry Pokemon a few times before the Poochyena calms down. The other, still angry continues its attack.

"Torchic, Ember!" The chick Pokemon jumps off my shoulder and fires a small flame towards the angered Poochyena.

It hits it directly, not doing too much damage. But it does scare them off. The Poochyena was able to break free of its silky trap and ran off into the bushes. The others follow suit.

I'm about to offer the girl some help getting up when I realize that Torchic's ember had lit one of the leaves of a nearby bush on fire.

"Shoot!" I look around frantically for any water Pokemon I could call upon, but to no avail. I quickly rummage through my pack and take out my water bottle which I then empty onto the burning bush, preventing the fire from spreading any further.

"Ah, dang," I look into my water bottle, "I just filled this up." I recall my Capture Disc and release the Wurmple back into the wild. I feel like I'm forgetting something.

Oh, duh, the girl, I turn to help her up only to find that she's disappeared. What? She was definitely just there a few seconds ago when I chased off those Poochyena.

"Huh," I look around for any sign of where she might've gone. I find a red bandana laying on the floor, which I pick up. Might as well return it to her if I see her again.

"Alright, back to the main road it is," I say and head back the way I came from, Torchic hopping at my heels.

Before long, we had traveled all of Route 102 and had reached Oldale Town, the first stop before we reached Littleroot Town. Oldale Town was fairly small, no prominent buildings aside from the Pokecenter and Pokemart. The rest of the town seemed to be entirely residential, makes sense since Petalburg is so close by.

I decide to stop by the Pokecenter to drop off this bandana, the girl might come here looking to see if anyone turned it in.

I step through the sliding doors to find that same girl standing anxiously at the counter of the Pokecenter.

"It's you!" I say, walking up to the counter with bandana in hand, "You dropped this."

It takes her a second to realize what was going on and who I was. "Oh, OH!" She bows politely, taking the bandana, "I'm so sorry for causing you trouble, thank you for saving me back in the forest. I am forever in your debt."

I'm taken aback, "Uh, there's really no need, I was just doing my job."

"I'm sorry for running off back there," she politely bows once more, "You see, I found a Ralts in the forest, injured and running from those Poochyena." She steps off to the side so I could see one of the monitors behind the desk. It shows a live feed of Nurse Joy helping an injured Ralts in one of the rooms.

"I don't really have any Pokemon of my own, and I know what everyone says about not going into the tall grass," she continues, "But I couldn't just leave the Ralts there. Soon enough, I was carrying an injured Pokemon, running through the forest when I tripped…"

"And that's where I found you."

"Exactly," the girl chuckles, and then face palms, remembering something, "Oh my, where are my manners? Arin Steele, pleased to meet you!" She holds her hand out to shake.

"Terence Carter, Pokemon Ranger," I shake her hand, "And this is my partner, Torchic." Torchic appears from his hiding spot behind my legs.

"Hey there, little guy," Arin crouches down to his level and pats him on the head. Torchic coos, and hops around Arin.

"He likes you," I chuckle, "So, Arin. What were you doing in the forest to begin with?"

"Ah, I was on my way to visit my uncle," she explains, "He lives in Littleroot."

"Littleroot?" I repeat, "I'm headed there right now, I wanted to meet Professor Birch."

"No way!" She says surprised. Arin then realizes something and looks down at her feet, "by any chance, do you think I could tag along? I don't really have anyone else."

"Of course, please," I offer, "Traveling is always fun with more people."

"Really?" Arin's eye's light up, "Thank you thank you thank you! I don't know what I would've done if I got into trouble again."

"Oh, speaking of trouble," Arin realizes something and goes through her bag, "I want you to have this." She pulls out of Fresh Water and hands it to me, "To replace the water you had to you to put out that fire."

I chuckle, "You saw that?" I rub the back of my neck, "Thanks for this."

"No problem," She smiles widely, "It's the least I could do for you."

"Sorry to interrupt," Nurse Joy returns to the counter, "But the Ralts you brought in is recovering nicely, nothing a nice rest won't heal."

Arin breathes a sign of relief, "Oh thank Arceus."

"May I ask," Nurse Joy continues, "Is that Ralts either of your Pokemon?" Both of us shake our heads, "Well, then I will release the Ralts back into the wild once it fully recovers."

"Thank you again," Arin says to the Nurse, "I know we're not really allowed to bring in wild Pokemon…"

"What you did was perfectly fine," Nurse Joy assured her, "You saw a Pokemon in danger and you responded. It takes real bravery to intervene like you did."

Arin's cheeks turn a light red, "Well, I'm not sure if I could have made it out unscathed if it weren't for Terence here."

Again, I wave her off, "Don't mention it, just doing my job."

"What is your job, by the way?" Arin asks.

"I'm a certified Pokemon Ranger," I show her the Styler equipped to my forearm, "We get the help of the Pokemon in our environment to accomplish the task at hand."

"That's how you got the Wurmple to help you back there," Arin notices.

"Exactly," I explain, "After we no longer need their assistance, we release them back into the wild."

"That seems really cool!" Arin says, adjusting her bag strap, "I wish I had an idea of what I wanted to be."

"I'm sorry for asking, but how old are you?" I inquire.

"17. But I'm turning 18 in a few weeks," Arin explains, "How about you?"

"I turned 18 a few months ago," I reply, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll find something you're passionate about soon."

"Let's hope so," Arin smiles and chuckles. She glances back at the monitor where Ralts could be seen, "We should get moving to Littleroot if we want to get there before lunch. I heard theres this little restaurant that servers really good food there!"

"Lead the way," I smile and we step out of the Pokecenter and start towards Littleroot Town.

And thus began my Hoenn Adventure and first encounter with my closest friend.

End of Chapter 1

A/N: Hi, thanks for reading the first chapter of my story! Please feel free to leave any feedback whether that be praise or criticism, both are welcome. This chapter might seem a little fast paced or rushed and that's probably because I had the sudden urge to write at about 2:02am. Anyways, I'm still working out the story if there is any, so don't expect any set upload schedule. If you want to read the next chapter as soon as it's out, please give this a follow!

Again, thanks for reading and 'till next time!

-AS