Pokémon:

Ruby Version

Chapter 1: Press Start

You know, I never really got Pokémon. They're cool and all, but training them seems like a waste of time. And kinda cruel. I mean, these animals are being trained just to beat each other unconscious...at least that's how I see it. My mom and dad don't get me. See, my dad, Norman, is a Gym Leader in the Johto region and my mom used to raise Pokémon for the Pokéathlon by Goldenrod City. So you can imagine why they're kinda disappointed in me. When my mom found out she was pregnant with me, she and my dad probably dreamed of having the next Champion, or Gym Leader, or even a Professor. Anything but what I am now. I don't want to battle with Pokémon partially because my dad is a Leader. At any rate, my folks are extra disappointed because I'm the only kid they could ever have.

I have nothing against Trainers who care for their Pokémon, but I just could never be one. Take my buddy, Gold (Ethan is his actual name, but we all call him Gold), for example. He's a kid from New Bark Town who stopped in Goldenrod for a bit. He took on my dad in the Gym and actually won. It was cool, because Gold did everything to keep his Pokémon as unharmed as possible. He somehow ended up talking to me, and understood my lack of interest in training. But he had this annoying girlfriend…another thing I never got either. Girls.

Before you go calling me a sexist or something, it's not like I think guys are better than girls. I just find most girls, especially the Lass Trainers, to be irritating. Guys are too, don't get me wrong, especially those Ace Trainers who think they own the whole Johto and Kanto regions. But girls irritate me in different ways I guess. They just try to find ways to be cute but usually end up doing this by insulting or teasing me. Or by trying to prove something to me. But the former is usually the case.

Take my buddy's girlfriend for example. Kris is a decent Trainer in her own regards. Got a Feraligatr already and is tough as nails. But she just pesters me over not being a Trainer.

"Your dad is a Gym Leader, and you don't even own a Pokémon?" was one of the first things she said to me. Then she went on to tease me over my hair (yes, it is hair and it is natural), my lack of "adventure", as she put it, and overall do everything to bother me into being what I wasn't. Or she is constantly telling me to get a girlfriend, since I'm now fourteen., or else I'm just some sort of freak in her eyes. Maybe they just remind me of my parents, girls, or it's just because I've met the wrong ones. At any rate, girls and Pokémon, while they work for others, aren't my cup of Hot Tea. But then, life in general hasn't exactly charmed me.

Anyway, enough about my boring past life. What I really wanted to talk about is the fact that I'm moving in three days. Just got the news last month. In three days, I leave everything I ever knew behind, all because my dad got a job in another region's League. Some new Normal-type girl applied for his position as Goldenrod's Gym Leader, and he didn't even argue about it. Whitney is her name, I think.

The thing that makes me the maddest is the fact that my dad didn't even ask me or my mom. What's worse is how my mom is acting all chill about it. As if this is just what people do. They don't even care that I'll leave my one and only friend behind as well.

He's visiting my house on his way through Goldenrod. He just got back from visiting his mom. I want to tell him that I'm leaving soon, but he brought his girlfriend, and she'll make it into something else. About how it'll be an adventure, how I should get a Pokémon, a girlfriend, and finally be normal in her eyes. And she'll be all perky about me going to a new place, getting a fresh start. But Ethan gets it. He'll get that I don't want a fresh start. Especially in such a foreign place. Hoenn just sounds so far and different.

"I noticed the boxes, Brendan," says Gold when Kris is out of the room. "That's gotta be rough."

This, right here, is why we're friends.

"Yeah…"

"Well, we have to stay in touch," he says, taking out his Pokégear while standing in the middle of my room.

I fall back on my bed and sigh a little. Now to break even worse news to him.

"My Gear won't work in the new region, Gold. It's too far away."

He stops looking at the Gear, raising his eyes to look at me.

"Seriously? How the heck are we supposed to talk then?" he asks.

I manage to shrug with my arms behind my head and he responds with, "They don't seem to care, huh?"

"I'm not the great trainer they hoped to raise, Ethan…I mean, can you blame them? I bet they expected some kind of Champion material, or even a Pokéathlete. Instead, they got a son who doesn't even want to train a Pokémon, much less fight. But I wish they'd at least warn me before making huge decisions like this."

"Brendan, your parents aren't, or shouldn't be, disappointed in you just because you hate seeing Pokémon get hurt. I get why you don't train, even if they don't. But also remember one thing: battling isn't all about hurting each other. I train Torch to keep him safe, so that when other Pokémon, wild or owned, challenge him, he won't get hurt. But I also understand your issue. Your parents get it too, somehow, even if they don't understand totally. Or show it. But if you do get a Pokémon one day, I'm sure you'll be an amazing trainer."

I sigh and look away, when Torch hops up onto my stomach. Torch is Ethan's Quilava. He is never inside his Ball, except in extreme cases like huge rainstorms. Even then, Gold tries to just cover up the little tough guy with his jacket or an umbrella. He likes to let Torch experience the journey to the Championship as much as he does, and goes out of his way to keep the creature safe. One time, he actually blocked a Water Gun from a wild Poliwag with his own body to protect Torch. This is another reason we're friends.

Anyway, so I start to pet the Quilava, who is actually upset at me moving away too. I met him when he had just evolved right after Gold beat my dad in the Gym. I helped nurse his wounds after that fight too. I sigh and look at him.

"You better promise to visit me in Hoenn, got it, Torch?" I demand, though Gold obviously is my actual target.

Ethan laughs and looks at his Pokémon in mock seriousness.

"You heard him, Torch!" he teases.

"Qui!" Torch blows a bit of smoke at us playfully and rubs his nose against my chest in agreement.

We traveled to Olivine City in order to catch the ferry to a city called Slateport in Hoenn, since Olivine has the only real docks in the Johto region. Gold came with me and my mom, and so did Kris. My dad already left for Hoenn three days ago to see his new Gym.

"So, Mount Silver, you ready to go on your first adventure?" she asks me, teasing me about my hair. (Yes, it really is my hair.)

See, I have this weird white hair that covers the top of my head, with my black hair more toward the bottom. I wear a headband to pretend it's just a hat, and most people kinda buy into it, but Kris called my bluff from day one. She calls me Mount Silver, since my head kinda looks like snow is on it.

"Moving away isn't exactly what I'd call an adventure, Cerulean."

Her hair is no better than mine, being a weird bright blue color, so I pick on her right back.

"Maybe now you can get a Pokémon and girlfriend and finally be sorta normal for once," she retorts, sticking out her tongue at me.

"Like you know what normal is."

Ethan sighs irritably and faces us each in turn.

"Kris, Brendan, knock it off already."

I look out at the glistening water that is dyed a deep blue and sigh a bit. This is literally the last time I will ever set foot on Johto's land again, so I can't help being bittersweet about it. I mean, I'm leaving my homeland forever. I know the Gym Leaders, and even some Elite Four members. I never traveled much, but I still knew the different towns and cities enough to tell you which Leader was in those places. I may not have trained Pokémon, but I still am familiar with the ones in my region. Hoenn…how was I going to learn a whole new region?

"You got this, Brendan," says Ethan.

I'm not facing him when I say, "You'd better visit after you become Champion. I want to hear about Champion Ethan the Gold defeating Lance the Dragon Master."

"Of course. You'll hear about it before I even get to Hoenn," he replies, turning to look at me. "And I hope you do have some fun out there, Brendan."

We grab each other's hands in our own special way and do a few things that are part of our routine and only ours.

"See you soon, Ethan."

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Brendan."

I let go of his hand, pet Torch, and aboard the vessel. As the boat carries me away from Johto, I turn and lean an elbow on the railing, waving at Gold, Kris and Torch. The ocean breeze threatens to remove my headband, so I grab it with one hand while still waving with the other. I see Ethan having similar problems with his Ultra Ball styled hat and can't help but laugh. We wave until the shore is no longer visible, and even then, I still keep my hand up for a few minutes.

Just in case, y'know?

"Honey, we're here!" says my mom as she opens the back of the moving truck. "Oh, hon, it's so lovely!"

Being stuck in a bouncing and jostling moving truck from Slateport to Littleroot isn't lovely in my eyes, but whatever…my mom is always trying to be peachy.

I look around and immediately am disappointed. The town, and that's a generous word, isn't even as big as a quarter of Goldenrod City. Heck, I think even Azalea Town is twice its size. Now, I didn't expect a huge place like my home-city, but…I can literally see from one side of the town to the other. I turn to look at the new house while rubbing my shoulder and my stomach drops even more. The place, while being a two-story, is probably about as big as my old living room. The Machoke are helping move the furniture into the house.

"Brendan, hon, go up to your new room and be sure to set your clock, okay?" says my mom.

I enter the house and go up to scope out my room. I see that it's already been mostly furnished, with my bed against the wall and my computer in the corner. I go to set my clock to the new regions time, hang it on my wall, and then go to fall onto my bed. With my face in the pillow, I let out a moan from the trip and disappointment. I shouldn't be complaining this much, but I'm aching, tired, and missing home. Dad isn't even here, since his new Gym is in a city called Petalburg. Why couldn't we have just moved there? Ah, well, I never understand my parents anyway.

I suddenly am woken up from a nap I didn't mean to take and my mom is calling for me to come downstairs. I get up, rubs my groggy eyes and head down to see what she needs.

"Oh, honey, you just missed the program with your father on it," she says while watching the television, obviously downcast.

Of course, then she perks back up and looks at me.

"Did you know that our next door neighbor is a Pokémon Professor, like Professor Elm? His wife visited earlier while you were sleeping and is so kind. They even have a kid your age, so I told Mrs. Birch that you would be over later to say hello!"

"Mom, why?" I ask, mumbling a bit.

"because you need to make friends, hon. Go greet them."

I knock on the door and wait, hoping no one answers it. My hope is wasted as I hear the doorknob turn and a middle-aged woman opens it.

"You must be the new young neighbor! Come on in. You can go make friends upstairs, my sweetie will be so happy to meet you."

The lady practically pushes me up her stairs and so I make my way up to the room. Sheesh, what a pain.

I knock, but the door opens on its own and I realize it was already ajar. I slowly walk in, and see a girl turn to look at me. She's got brown hair, and is wearing a blue shirt with black tight shorts. A blue bandana is tied up on her head like rabbit-ears, with its two pieces sticking up above her head. She is shocked at me being here, but smiles anyway.

"Oh, uh, hey there!" she says, clicking on her computer mouse a few times to close the programs she was running.

She quickly stands up from her chair, stumbling a bit, and comes over to me. Great, my next door neighbor is a ditzy girl…and if she's a Professor's daughter, a Poké Nerd most likely. She'll probably ask me all sorts of questions, make stupid nicknames, try to touch my hair, and the list goes on.

"So, a Gym Leader's son, huh?" she asks, making me groan internally in anticipation for the next question. "Do you have any cool Pokémon?"

"No, I'm not a Trainer."

"Oh? Why not?"

"I just never liked seeing them get hurt, so…"

"Oh! Okay, that makes sense. I guess after seeing all your dad's Pokémon get hurt, you just couldn't, huh?"

I blink and stare at her for a minute.

"You're not going to lecture me or anything?" I ask skeptically.

"No, why? It's your decision."

Huh, for once, someone actually doesn't pry too far, which is rare…

Especially for a girl.

"And sweet hair, by the way. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!"

She holds out her hand and says, "I'm May Birch. You?"

"Brendan," I reply, shaking her hand.

"Just Brendan?"

"Yeah, just Brendan."

She smiles and nods, shakes my hand once and drops it.

"Well, Brendan, I hope to see you around town more, it's so great to finally have a next door neigh—

A sudden beep emits from the bag slung around her hips and she jumps a bit. She reaches in and pulls out a small device that reminds me, vaguely, of a PokéGear.

"Oh no! My dad needed me on the field almost an hour ago!" she exclaims, stuffing it back into her bag and running toward the door.

She turns toward me and says, "Sorry, but I have to go look for Pokémon on Route 103 for my dad's research!"

She runs out, leaving me standing in her room confused. I eventually make my way back down the stairs about ten minutes later and wave goodbye to her mom. Man, is this awkward.

As I make my way around the tiny town, I pass by the route to the north's sign, and there's a kid close to it, standing on his tiptoes to see something out there. I'm kinda curious, so I walk over to ask him what he's doing, when I hear shouts coming from the route somewhere.

"I think the Professor is in trouble!" says the boy, looking up at me. "Mister, can you go help him? I can't, because I'm not allowed out there!"

I quickly glance around for anyone else to help, but it's just me and this little kid. I don't want to, but someone's gotta help the Professor. I sprint out of town, onto Route 101, and sure enough I see the guy being chased around by an incredibly angry dog-looking Pokémon. The thing, while pretty small, is too aggressive for the Professor to really defend himself.

"You! Young man! Help! I dropped my bag of Poké Balls! Grab one and get this Poochyena away from me!"

Is this guy for real? I've never been in this situation, and I really don't want to have to do this, but the guy needs rescuing…

I grab a Ball, not knowing what's inside, and throw it. The light fades and the Ball comes back to my hand, and I see a little blue Pokémon with orange spiky things coming out of its cheeks. It looks back at me, tilts its head in what seems to be curiosity, but then turns to face the thing called Poochyena. Since the one I'm commanding is mainly blue, and has fins on its body, it's gotta be a Water-type.

"Alright, use Water Gun!" I call, hoping the little critter knows the move.

It charges forward, open its mouth and, thankfully, shoots a small stream of water at the dog. The Poochyena whimpers, and backs up a bit.

"Go! Get out of here, Poochyena!" I yell.

The thing actually listens and turns around, running back into the thick woods around us.

The Professor stands up, shaken still, but smiling, and walks over to me. He grabs my hand and shakes it eagerly.

"Thank you, young man! You saved my life! Come to my lab with me, so we can talk more easily!"

With that, he drags me to his laboratory before I can even call back the blue Pokémon hopping along after us.

"Again, I cannot thank you enough!" the Professor says, still shaking my hand with a huge smile on his face. "I accidentally startled the Poochyena and so it attacked me. By the way, you handled Mudkip like a pro! And commanded a wild Pokémon!"

"Y-yeah," I say, finally getting my arm away from him. "My dad's a Gym Leader, so I've picked up a few things from him."

"Oh! You're Norman's boy, that's right! He's told me so much about you! Wait'll he hears you finally have your first Pokémon!"

"Hold up, I only used Mudkip to help you, sir!"

"Yes, and you can help me more! You see, young man, I want to study how Mudkip reacts to a foreign Trainer, and you are the perfect Trainer! You'll help me out, right? For a bit?"

His face is so obliviously honest and trusting, and he is practically begging me to say yes, so I finally mumble, "I…I guess I can help for a little bit."

He grasps my hand again, his eyes and face open in such a little kid way that I almost feel bad for the guy.

"Thank you! Now, can you go fetch my daughter for me? She should be up on Route 103, just past Oldale. I need to speak to her, and this will be a good bonding time for you and Mudkip! By the way, are you going to nickname Mudkip? This one happens to be a female!"

A female? Well, girl Pokémon are fine by me…

"I guess I'll call her Madeline."

"Great name! Okay, Brendan and Madeline, off you go on your first adventure!"

This guy is way too energetic…

Madeline looks up at me, as though in agreement, and hops up onto my shoulder. I turn and walk out the door. I actually have a Pokémon. My first one. Sure, she's just being lent to me, but it still counts. Instead of being irritated, like I originally thought I would be, I find myself kinda excited. The Mudkip paws at my cheek, and I pet the fin on her head, actually happy to have the little girl with me

Who woulda thought?