Chapter 1

Words with "Poke" in it won't have an accent on the e because I don't know how to do that.

I tug my blue and purple brush through my curly brown hair, finally almost ready to leave. Finally, the last of the eighteen kids for this batch has turned fourteen, and now we can all get our starter Pokemon.

Here in the Newcone region, we don't have any of our own signature starters, or legendary Pokemon. This small, mountainous and forest covered region barely qualified to have it's own Pokemon League, but they got through. So instead, our regions professor gets one of each starter from the other regions, and gives them out. She has a long waitlist for those who want to get Pokemon from her. Kids don't have to get the Pokemon from her, but many in Little Pond (the town where the professor has her lab) choose to. She raises all of the small creatures to great standards.

My name is Amy Hamilton. My mother is the leader of the Valimence City gym, which is an Electric-type gym.

"Bye Mom! I'll be back for dinner!" I yell out to my mother as I dash out the door, not waiting to hear her response. I jump hurriedly onto my bike and pedal as quickly as possible. I want to be the first one there, so I can have all the choices of Pokemon that I want.

It's only about a mile from my house, but the ride to the professor's lab takes the breath out of me. I glance at my watch wearily. A black 8:45 glares back at me. I sigh in relief. Fifteen minutes early. Who else could be here?

Last week, I had managed to sneak a peek at the list of the eighteen people who I would be sharing this experience with. Some of them I adored, and would be glad to offer to travel with. Others were…not so satisfactory.

Two of my friends and I had decided to travel together about three months ago. There was Lauren Weston, a sweet and shy girl who had confided in me that she had no interest in fighting her way through the Pokemon League. She instead was looking forward to breeding and raising Pokemon, and hoped to one day own her own Pokemon Daycare.

The other girl was Elsa Rivera, and she was looking forward to seeing just how good of a trainer she could become. Elsa was a relaxed individual who enjoyed seeing how things would work out. Her and Lauren were both good tempers to me, or at least so said my mom, due to my heated personality.

I pushed open the clear doors of the lab and made my way up to the second floor, where the professor told us to find her when we were ready. My heart leapt in joy as I walked up to the eighteen Pokeballs all lined up in a row. I was the first one to arrive, just as I had wanted. I went to touch one of the Pokeballs, when I heard a familiar voice say my name.

"Amy, welcome. You're early, the first one here." I turned around to see Professor Hazel standing a few feet behind me. Her long and springy red hair was tied back into a messy ponytail, and her short height was bumped up a few inches by the thick heels on her black combat boots. "So, do you know which Pokemon you wish to start your adventure with?"

I nodded solemnly, keeping a smile off my face so that I could portray an air of seriousness and responsibility. "I do," I answered. "I choose Fennekin."

Hazel's eyes widened in shock. "Really?" She questioned, surprised. "I would've thought you would have chosen Charizard, or Sceptile."

I dipped in my head, laughing shyly. "I considered those two heavily, and they were some of the last choices in my mind. But in the end, I wanted the nimbleness and eventual psychic ability that Fennekin's evolved form, Delphox, will bring forth."

Hazel smiled, flashing me her bright white teeth. "A good choice," she stated. She brushed past me, picking up the red and white ball in her right hand, and holding it out to me in her palm. "Here is your female Fennekin. Are you ready?" I nodded again, and grabbed the Pokeball, holding it firmly but gently. I had to admit, I was nervous about breaking it.

"Come this way," Hazel directed, gesturing over to a clean silver and metal table, that had a stack of small and thin red box-like machines on them. "This," she started, picking one up and placing it in my other hand, "is a Pokedex. This will record all Pokemon that you catch and will give you information about the Pokemon that you don't know. It also has a map on it, and information about the cities in this region, and others. It's like a tourist guide," the professor summarized, curly hair bobbing as she nodded.

"Thank you," I told her, and began to head back down the stairs.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning at nine. A couple of friends and I are going together. They're having dinner with my mom, dad and I tonight, along with my brother and sister."

"Oh, that'll be so much fun for you!" Hazel squealed in excitement. "Oh, I remember the day I first set out on my journey. My starter was an Eevee, who I evolved into an Espeon right after my battle with the Champion."

"You beat the Champion?" I gasped. The only other people I knew who had done that were my mother and siblings. My father was a Pokemon Coordinator, who had never gone to try and beat any of the gyms past the fifth.

Hazel nodded, blushing red at the awe in my eyes. "I did," she admitted. "It was very difficult. The Champion, Rosa, has six Pokemon of six different types. My team was a strange one, let me tell you!" Her bubbly laugh was contagious, and I found myself chuckling along with her.

"What was your team?" I asked her, hoping to get tips for my own attempts at beating the Champion.

"Eevee, as I said, an Azumarill, Garchomp, Gengar, Delcatty, and Rapidash."

"That is a unique line-up," I commented. My mother had a team of all Electric types, so I had experience in seeing a team of varied looking Pokemon.

When we finally reached the front door, and I was back on my bike, ready to leave, when Hazel posed me one last question.

"Do you think you can do it?" She asked, the sun lighting up her flaming hair. She looked me up and down, and I knew she had doubt in her head. She wondered if I had what it took to beat the Pokemon League. To follow my dreams. I smirked as I answered.

"I know I can."

"Amy, your friends are here!" I jumped down the stairs and took the door handle from my older sister, Dana.

"Thanks Dana," I muttered as I pulled open the door. Lauren and Elsa proudly held out their Pokeballs, wide smiles on both of their faces. I held out mine in return. We had promised to not let the Pokemon out until we were all together. "So, do we open them now, or wait until after dinner?"

Elsa thought for a moment. "How much longer until dinner is ready?" She inquired, finally stepping in the house, Lauren in suit.

"Mom?" I called into the kitchen, where her and Dad where cooking.

"Yes?"

"How much longer until dinner?"

"It's ready now," she called back.

"After dinner," Elsa stated, and neither Lauren nor me argued.

"So," Dana asked, taking a sip of water after beginning, "where will you three go first?"

"Roxbury," I answered around a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "Gonna train, catch some Pokemon in the Mossy Woods, and then challenge Clay." I saw Lauren falter out of the corner of my eye, but I said nothing. The only reason she was nervous about admitting her real dream was because her parent's were both highly esteemed and well-known in the Pokemon Trainer world. They were Ace Trainers Sylvester and Riley, and her older sister was a the high ranked Pokemon Ranger Lisa. They were all amazing battlers, as I had witnessed myself. They would support their daughter, but even I knew they would be somewhat disappointed. Elsa's parents didn't care either way. Whatever she chose to do with them, they just wanted her to have Pokemon in her life, and the same with her three younger siblings. The biggest thing I had yet to reveal to my family was that I also planned on pursuing a path in Pokemon Coordination along with Pokemon battling. That wasn't anything that would upset them. At most it would shock them.

"And then you'll just follow the path from there?" My brother, Oswald, asked.

"Wherever the wind takes us," Elsa answered in a smooth and silvery voice. She sounded like she was dreaming.

"And our hearts," Lauren added quickly. She ducked down after she spoke and ate in silence.

"Good idea," my mother told us, pride shining in her bright blue eyes. The same color of my own. "That's what we all did, and look where we are now." I blushed as she bragged about the family. My mother was the reason I knew what the word ostentatious meant. She had originally wanted a party for this occasion, but my begging had gotten to her.

She wasn't wrong though, I reminded myself. Dad was a Top Coordinator, with a team that had both beauty and strength. Mom was a gym leader, and a notoriously hard-to-beat one at that. Dana was an Ace Trainer, and spent most of her days on Victory Road in Somnio City, the city where the Elite Four arenas were near. Oswald was a Pokemon Ranger, who was known for his innumerable wins against the fiendish Team Aeterna. They were a criminal team who often mugged people, stealing their Pokemon from them. They had high hopes for me. I swallowed, suddenly feeling very small.

The stars glittered and twinkled in the sky, their blurry reflection lighting up the small pool in my backyard. I had my feet dipped in the pool, pants rolled up to my knees. I was waiting for my friends to clear away their dishes so they could come out here and we could introduce our Pokemon to each other.

"You ready or what?" I scoffed under my breath. I just knew that Elsa's question was accompanied by a cocky smirk, even though I wasn't looking at her.

"Are you two ready?" I asked in return, standing up and grabbing my Pokeball from its place on my Pokeball holder belt. Lauren and Elsa nodded, Pokeballs in their hands and ready.

"Go, Mudkip!" Elsa yelled, throwing her Pokeball straight up into the air in an underhand toss motion. The ball opened in a flash of red, and a small Mudkip was on the ground, shaking itself. Elsa caught the ball with a graceful twist of her hand, as if she had practiced. Knowing her, she had.

"Chikorita, I choose you!" Laruen called as she held her Pokeball out in front of her, not throwing it like Elsa had. Another flash of red, and there was a small Chikorita on the ground, standing next to Mudkip. It waved it's leaf back and forth, stretching out it's legs.

"Go, Fennekin!" I shouted. I threw the Pokeball from behind my shoulder, and up in the air. It cut through the air like a knife. In a third flash of red, my Fennekin was released. It landed on the ground with a small thud of its small paws hitting the dirt. I caught the Pokeball as it dropped back down to the ground, hopping up and grabbing it tightly in both hands. I stared at the three small Pokemon, and already I was eager to test out their skills. "So, let's have a battle."

"A three person battle?" Lauren asked, concern shining in her dark eyes.

"Everyone will have two Pokemon against them. It'll be fair," I said, hoping they would go along with my idea.

Elsa shrugged. "I'm good. Lauren?" Lauren nodded slowly.

"I'll do it. Are your Pokemon girls or boys?" She asked, tagging it onto the end of her other sentence, making her sound rushed. "Mine's a boy."

"A girl," I answered, and Elsa nodded.

"I've got a girl too."

"What I wanna know," I began, "is what Pokemon Ryan got." Ryan White was my arch-nemesis since we had met. He must have known that I had chosen a Fire Type. So what had he gotten in return?

"A Blastoise," Lauren told me. "He said it was to beat you."

I grunted, a new spark of determination firing up in my heart. "Well, if you see him and I'm not there, tell him this for me; to meet me at the top. We'll see who wins then."

"Can we get to our battle now?" Elsa asked, though she didn't sound impatient, more curious. I shook myself and nodded.

Soon enough the three of us had made a triangle, equal distances from each other, our Pokemon standing in front of our legs. We had gotten Dana to act as the judge and she waved her hand into the air.

"Let the battle begin!"

All three of us were tense, awaiting the battle's true start; when the first move was made.

"Chikorita, Vine Whip!" I was so startled I forgot to pay attention to what Chikorita was doing. Lauren made the first move? I was snapped back to attention when I heard the cry of a Mudkip. The small blue Pokemon was being held in the air by Chikorita's vines. "Now, razor leaf!" I felt bad for the small Mudkip, and for Elsa. Both looked distraught, and completely taken by surprise. I had to make this a fairer battle.

"Fennekin, Ember at Chikorita!" I watched as the tiny yellow Pokemon leapt forwards and into the air. Rolling its head, Fennekin blast out small flecks of flame at Chikorita. The attack was a direct hit, and Chikorita reared back. Mudkip twist itself so that it landed on its feet.

"Mudkip, Mud Shot!" Mudkip charged towards Chikorita and small balls of mud shot out of its mouth, hitting the Grass Pokemon on the side.

"Chikorita!" Lauren called out in worry for her Pokemon. Tears were forming in her eyes. It came back to me that Lauren wanted to heal Pokemon.

"Lauren!" I called, and she turned to me. "Do you want to stop?" She hesitated, thinking, and very obviously torn. But eventually, the sight of her Pokemon getting pelted with Mud Shot and Ember was too much for her. She closed her eyes in defeat, and nodded. "Please."

I captured the gaze of Elsa and nodded. She nodded in return and brought out her Pokeball. "Mudkip, return." The Pokemon looked at its trainer in shock, tilting its head in question.

"Fennekin, you too, return!" I brought out my Pokeball and recalled Fennekin. I placed the Pokeball back on my belt. "Sorry, Lauren," I said, apologizing to the clearly upset girl.

"It's okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Elsa told her. "We've known for a while you didn't like battling. We shouldn't have brought you into a battle."

"You two could still fight," she pointed out.

I shook my head. "I actually want to get to sleep. See you tomorrow?"

They both nodded, and went to exit from the gate in the backyard. "Bye Amy!" They called as they walked away.

"Bye guys! See you tomorrow!" I felt a hand on my shoulder and jumped, turning around. Oh yeah, Dana was here.

"That was good of you," she uttered. "To let Lauren pull out."

"I didn't want her to be upset," I replied, brushing off her kind words. I still felt bad for suggesting a battle in the first place.

"And there are people who would ignore that, but you didn't. That's the sign of a good trainer."

I smiled and accepted the compliment. "Thanks sis."

"Come one," she chuckled, mussing up my hair, 'let's go to bed. You've got a big day tomorrow."