Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

AN: This is a rewrite of the original Chapter 1; some things don't match up with Chapters 2 and 3, but they will be rewritten in due time. Enjoy! Hopefully, everyone sees this as an improvement!

Chapter 1: The Beginning

I woke up to the rhythmic BEEP BEEP BEEP of my alarm clock. I reached through the dark, knocked over an empty glass of water, and turned on my bedside lamp. Stumbling and half-asleep, I managed to reach my alarm clock, which was located on the far end of my dresser, and I turned off the alarm.

A lot of people wonder why I don't just have my alarm clock right next to me, so that I can just reach over and turn it off. Well, I tell them, what's the use in that? Then you just stay in bed and fall back asleep after you've turned your alarm off. But my method gets you up and out of bed, at which point you lose a lot of that early-morning drowsiness that keeps you asleep.

I yawned loudly as I walked over to the lightswitch on my wall. It took me a moment to realize what day it was. Wait a second, I thought to myself. Today's the day! Today I'm finally going to start my very own journey and challenge the Johto League!

I looked back towards my bed, where a familiar, small brown ball of fur was sound asleep in his bed, snoring. Eevee. I walked over towards him and nudged him with my foot.

"Wake up, buddy," I said to him. "Today's the day!"

He looked up at me with his big, black eyes, which were only half-open at the time. It took him a moment, but I saw the realization dawn across his face. Eevee immediately perked up, letting out a loud, excited cry.

"Eevee!"

"Shh!" I whispered to him. "Mom and Dad are still sleeping!"

Eevee and I are both very, very close; we've spent many years together. I received Eevee as a birthday gift years ago; so far he's the best (and most expensive; he was bought from a very reputable breeder located here in my hometown, Goldenrod City) gift I've ever received. I've spent as much time with Eevee as I have with my two best friends from trainer school━Frank Johnson and Luke Cain; we're nearly inseparable. In fact, we're so close, that I've even heard some of my dad's friends whispering that when I become a trainer one day, Eevee might actually evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon.

After hearing my dad's friends whispering that, I asked my dad about why it sounds so special to have your Eevee evolve into an Espeon or Umbreon. So, my Dad explained everything to me.

You see, son, Espeon and Umbreon are very rare Pokémon to have. They only evolve from Eevee when the trainer and the Pokémon are very, very close with each other. The bond must be so strong, that almost nothing can break it. But, that's not all. The trainer must also have a good heart and be a kind person; or at least, that's what some people say. As such, Espeon and Umbreon are very rare Pokémon to see, and if one day Eevee evolves into one? Well, you'll have joined a very small, very exclusive club.

But first, let's take a step back. I'm Chris. Today, I begin my journey to collect all 8 Gym Badges of the Johto region, after which I hope to compete in the Silver Conference. Although, today I don't "technically" start. That's tomorrow━when I hopefully will arrive in New Bark Town to receive my starter Pokémon, from which point on I will begin my journey. Frank and Luke are going to begin today also. The three of us have spent years preparing for this day, enrolled in Trainer Academy, in order to get ourselves a quality education before we set out in the world.

As you probably know, you can legally become a Pokémon trainer at age 10. Only a small percentage of children actually start their journey then, however. How long they wait, though, varies. Some kids start at age 12 or 13━that's fairly common. Others━like me, Frank, and Luke━enroll in a trainer school and get a quality education before we head out to start our journeys. Although it can be painstakingly boring waiting that long to start your journey, it's often seen as the best way to go. But, enough of my backstory.

After shushing Eevee, we walked out into the kitchen to get breakfast. Eevee patiently sat in front of his food bowl while I poured him some of his Poké Food. When I finished up with that, I reached into the top cupboard and grabbed a box of my favorite cereal━Oran-Os, made with real Oran Berries.

I set down my box of Oran-Os on the counter, and reached up for a bowl. Getting some Moo-Moo Milk out of the refrigerator, I poured myself a bowl of cereal. I missed a couple of Oran-Os, which Eevee enthusiastically ran over to eat up.

Carefully carrying my bowl over to the dining room table, I sat down. Phew. Didn't spill a drop of milk!

My Oran-Os didn't last five minutes; just like all the other food I eat. Gone in a flash. My mom always says, Where's the fire, Chris?

After putting my bowl in the sink, I walked over to the balcony to look outside. The sun had just peeked out over the horizon, and was shining in between the various buildings that make up the skyline of Goldenrod City. Eevee followed me, and I lifted him up and put him on my shoulder so that he could look out, too.

"It's really the day, buddy," I told him. "Either we become a statistic of failure, like so many have before us, or we become a name in the history books. Only we can decide that, Eevee."

I smiled smugly after making that mini-speech. The night before, when my nerves were keeping me awake, I had come up with that little speech. It seemed pretty good to me, and this had seemed like a pretty good moment to say it; so I had.

Bringing myself back to reality, I looked at the clock on the microwave. Shoot! The time was already 6:30 AM.

"We have to get ready, Eevee! It's already been a half an hour! We can't miss the bus!" I yelled out as I sprinted back to my room.

I only had an hour to get ready, and I wanted to make sure I had as much time as possible to do that. Once in my room, I grabbed my solid-grey backpack and put it on the floor in the middle of my room.

Then I hurried over towards my dresser, pulling out my favorite t-shirt (a plain maroon-colored one, I'm a rather simple dresser) and my favorite pair of athletic shorts (pure black; once again, I don't dress exquisitely). A simple pair of short, black socks were good enough for me. My travel belt fit a little awkwardly onto my athletic shorts, but I made it work. It felt a little uncomfortable, but I needed someplace to store Poké Balls, so I put up with it. At the moment, though, the only Poké Ball on it was Eevee's.

Finally, I walked over to my closet and grabbed my favorite jacket: a dark gray, waterproof, hoodless jacket, with a golden-colored trim along the waist and a golden-colored collar. The two chest pockets were good places for supplies. I hesitated stuffing the jacket into my backpack, due to the warm weather, but figured I'd keep it on.

I grabbed the rest of my clothes and supplies, all neatly ordered into my backpack, and I started to exit my room to head to the dining room, where I could hear my parents eating their own breakfasts.

"Eevee!"

I turned around. "What is it, Eevee?"

Eevee jumped and ran into my closet, climbed the boxes along the floor, and grabbed my favorite hat off of the hook. He carried it in his mouth, and laid it in front of my feet.

"Oh my goodness. I almost forgot my favorite hat! Thank you very much, Eevee!" I said as I picked up the hat, and put it on my head, covering up my short, blond hair. Eevee beamed with pride.

I said a hasty good-bye to my parents, as it was almost time for me to leave. My mom almost started crying, and asked me to call home on my Pokégear; to which my dad said, "Don't worry about it, son, go out and be independent!"

I walked out the door and into the hallway. For a moment, I just stood there.

Wow. I'm really starting my journey today. This isn't a dream or anything. It's actually happening. Wow.

For a moment, I was overcome with nervousness, and I almost considered walking right back into our apartment and not going on my journey. But then, I thought of the prospect of meeting all kinds of people and Pokémon along the way, and winning the Silver Conference, and my nerves went away. In fact, I got so excited, that I even took the stairs instead of the elevator!

Frank was already at the bus terminal when I got there. I recognized his messy blond hair from a mile away. He was looking a little impatient, though. I glanced at the clock on the wall, and noticed it was only a couple of minutes past our arranged meeting time. I also noticed Frank was alone.

"Where's Luke?" I asked him. There was no concern creeping into my mind yet, but Luke was normally on time. Of all the days to be late, he picks the day we start our journeys.

"I don't know," Frank replied. "He hasn't called me or anything. I thought you might━ "

At that moment, my Pokégear started ringing. I glanced down at it. The number was Luke's.

"Luke?" I said into the Pokégear as I answered the call.

"Hi, Chris," Luke said. Something sounded off━like some family member had just died or something. "Is Frank there, too?"

"Yeah," I replied. "What's up? Is something wrong?"

Luke took a moment to reply, and when he did, he sounded a little distraught, although he was holding himself together fairly well. "Put the Pokégear on speaker, please, Chris. There's something I need to tell both of you guys."

Uh-oh, I thought. This can't be good.

"I-I won't be starting my journey today," Luke said.

Frank and I both cried out in unison. "What?!"

"I-I might not even be going on a journey at all," Luke said.

Frank and I both exchanged very surprised looks. "What do you mean?!" I said.

"My-my mom got an opportunity to expand her business, and, I-I have to go help her with it," Luke said. I could hear his voice start to tremble, as if he was tearing up but was struggling to hold it in.

"We're moving, today, actually," he added. "So, I-I won't be able to-to go on our j-journey together. I'm sorry. I don't…," he paused, gathering himself. "I don't know if I'll be able to keep in touch with you two, either. This new job is going to keep both me and my mom very, very busy. Professor Elm is going to send me a Pokémon, since I've already paid, but, I'm going to be stuck in this job for a while. I'm really sorry, guys." Luke broke down, crying profusely.

"Stay calm, Luke," Frank said into my Pokégear. Thankfully, he was taking this better than I was. I found myself struggling to even get words into my mouth.

"If you can't start your journey today, then neither will we," Frank added, defiant.

"N-no," Luke argued. "You, you guys have to go on your journeys. I'll...I'll be alright. I promise. Just, go and enjoy yourselves."

Frank started to argue again, but Luke cut him off. "Look, don't worry about me, it's fine. Really. Everything will be━"

There was a loud crash in the background, like boxes falling, and then I heard a woman shout something.

"I-I have to go, guys," Luke said, somehow finding the strength to keep a firm voice. "Just, enjoy your journeys. Have fun! Make new friends, meet all kinds of Pokémon, and just━"

Another loud crash reached the Pokégear's microphones, and once again, a woman was heard shouting.

"I really have to go, guys. I'll, I'll call you when I can. Bye!"

And with that, Luke hung up. For a moment, Frank and I stood there, speechless. Our best friend, who we'd known for years, who we'd talked with about our Pokémon journeys for years, who we'd been so close with, had just told us that he wasn't going to go on a journey. All those years of buildup and anticipation, gone. I hadn't expected to feel this deflated on the first day of my journey. I felt like a balloon that had just been popped with a needle.

Neither of us said a word until the bus drove up, and the loudspeakers made a call saying that the bus to New Bark Town was here.

"Well, this is our bus," I said to Frank. Slowly, he got up, but his head was hanging and he had a look of pure sadness on his face. I tried to cheer him up, but sadly, our bus ride was spent in silence. After a grueling overnight trip, we arrived in New Bark Town in the early morning. We immediately we walked to the laboratory of Professor Elm, where we were going to receive our first Pokémon.

"So, are you still planning on choosing Cyndaquil?" I asked Frank as we walked through New Bark Town.

Frank was intently staring down at the ground, but he answered. "Yep."

"That's a nice choice. Hopefully I can get one too. Maybe Professor Elm will have two."

Frank, Luke and I had talked about which starter we would choose since we were little kids. Both Frank and I had decided upon the Fire Mouse Pokémon, Cyndaquil; Luke liked the Leaf Pokémon, Chikorita. It was a tough choice for me between Cyndaquil and Chikorita (Totodile didn't interest me at all), and in the end I had sided with a Fire-type over a Grass-type. Since Frank was older than me (only by two days, though!), I promised him he'd get first pick. If the Professor didn't have two Cyndaquils, then a Chikorita wouldn't be terrible. But I wanted to at least see if it was possible for me to get a Cyndaquil too.

"Well, this is it," I said to Frank as approached the laboratory. He was still down in the dumps about what had happened with Luke. Which was odd━usually he was trying to make me feel better about things, not the other way around.

I pulled open one of the double doors, and Frank and I walked to the front desk. A blonde-haired receptionist in a blue blouse was sitting behind a desk.

"Hi, we're here to receive starter Pokémon?" I asked her.

The receptionist looked up from her computer. "Ah, yes." She looked at Frank. "I'll just need some kind of an ID from both of you," she said as her voice trailed off.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out my trainer card. Frank did the same, and we handed both of our trainer cards to the receptionist. We'd only received them in the mail a week ago, and they still looked very new.

She looked back at her computer, put our trainer cards through a scanner, and handed them back to us. "If you'll follow me, please, I'll take you to the professor."

Standing up, the receptionist walked out from behind her desk and briskly began walking down the hallway, her heels klicking and klacking along the tile floor along the way. We passed several rooms, which contained what I assumed to be aides of Professor Elm's. One room contained an experiment involving two Gloom; from what I saw as we passed by the room, there were two different stones being placed in front of the Gloom. For what reason, I didn't know.

Finally, we reached a door that said Professor Elm across the top. The receptionist knocked on the door, then opened it. She entered, and Frank and I followed. Inside, the room was similar to the other lab rooms, with counters along two opposing walls, and cabinets above them. The only difference from the other rooms was the untidiness of it; papers and folders were strewn about, as if a Donphan had just been rampaging through the room. I looked over at Frank, who was also taking in our surroundings. I noticed that most of the sadness on his face had been replaced with excitement and anticipation at receiving our starter Pokémon.

The professor looked up from his desk as we entered. "Ah, thank you, Brenda. These are the two boys that wanted their starter Pokémon?" he asked.

"Yes, professor. This is Chris━" she pointed to me, "━and Frank," she pointed to Frank.

"Thank you very much, Brenda. I can take it from here," Elm said.

"Thank you, professor," said the receptionist, whose name was apparently Brenda. She turned and left the room. Her heels continued to klick and klack, until finally the sound disappeared.

"So, boys," Professor Elm said. "You're here to receive starter Pokémon. Well, give me a moment and I'll get out your choices…"

Elm got up out of his chair, and walked over to a cabinet. He reached up into it, searching for something. He knocked out three Poké Balls. Clumsily, he flailed his arms around to catch them, but every single one eluded his hands. Thankfully, however, the three Poké Balls landed on a pile of papers on the counter, appearing to be unscathed.

Frank and I shared surprised glances. I had to stifle a laugh. Is this really Johto's top professor?

The professor let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that, boys! Just give me a moment to check and make sure the Poké Balls are still alright…"

One at a time, he took each Poké Ball and thoroughly examined it, while Frank and I again exchanged glances.

"Good news, boys!" the professor said, a little louder than normal, causing Frank and I to both jump. "The Poké Balls are not majorly damaged. That's good!"

I saw a concerned look wash over Frank's face, and I made the same face. The professor laughed.

"I'm just kidding! They're in tip-top shape. After all, your parents paid good money for you two to receive starters. And I have to keep up my good reputation!"

I let out a nervous laugh, hoping to diffuse the awkward situation. "Could we, uh, get our Pokémon now?"

"Oh, yes! Of course! Just give me a moment, again."

I rolled my eyes, and made eye contact with Frank. He tilted his head towards Professor Elm, whose back was to us as he messed around with a table-top, clearing off papers and muttering, "One more minute, boys," and "Just give me another second," every so often. Frank took his index finger and pointed it towards his temple, making a twirling motion. I translated that as nice as I could: The professor's "eccentric".

I laughed, and the professor turned around. "Hmm?" he asked.

"Nothing!" I responded, my voice higher than usual. Oblivious, Elm turned back around and continued clearing off the table.

I made eye contact with Frank again, and nodded, copying his earlier motion. We started to laugh again, but were interrupted by the professor.

"All ready!" he said, turning to us. He had an enormous grin on his face as he gestured to the few square feet of clean area in the entire room.

"Now, to show you the Pokémon!" he said. "First up, Chikorita, the Grass-type Pokémon!"

Elm reached towards one of the Poké Balls, this one with a small green leaf symbol above the central button. He pressed the button, releasing a Chikorita onto the table. It sat down and looked up at Frank and I, wondering who we were.

"So? What do you think?" said the professor.

"Let's see the next one," Frank said.

"Yeah," I concurred.

Next, Elm grabbed the Poké Ball with a blue drop of water above the button. "Next up, Totodile, the Water-type!"

The Big Jaw Pokémon appeared next to Chikorita. Again, Frank and I shook our heads, much to the disappointment of the Totodile.

"Well, there's only one left, boys. Cyndaquil, the Fire-type!" the professor said as he grabbed the last Poké Ball, which had a small flame above the button. The Fire Mouse Pokémon appeared in front of us.

Frank looked at me questioningly, and I nodded, albeit a little wistfully. Frank proceeded to step up, following our pre-approved plan.

"I'll take the Cyndaquil, if that's alright," Frank said. Cyndaquil turned to Chikorita and Totodile and smugly smiled at them, showing off that it had been chosen by a trainer.

"Sure, thing," the professor said, handing the Poké Ball to Frank. Cyndaquil jumped into his arms, smiling. Frank looked down at Cyndaquil, and smiled too.

The professor turned his gaze to me. "So, will you be choosing Chikorita or Totodile?"

I nervously scratched the back of my neck. I'd been preparing to ask this rather unusual question for some time, but I still found myself a little nervous to ask it.

"Is there, uh, any way that I could, you know, get a Cyndaquil too?" I asked nervously.

Professor Elm frowned. "Well, usually when trainers come in together, they just pick one of the remaining Pokémon."

"Oh," I said, unable to hide the dejection in my voice.

"But," the professor said. "There are times when I get a trainer asking me exactly what you just did. And the answer is, yes, you can."

My insides jumped for joy, and I was ecstatic. I was going to get my own Cyndaquil after all!

Professor Elm made a call on his phone, and within a couple of minutes one of his aides came into the room, holding a Poké Ball just like Frank's, with a small flame above the button. The aide handed the Poké Ball to the professor, and abruptly left the room.

Once the aide had left, Professor Elm handed me the Poké Ball. "It's yours. Take good care of it. You too," he said as he pointed to Frank.

For a moment, I stood motionless, staring at the Poké Ball in my hand. The first new friend of my journey was inside the Ball. I started to reach for the button to send Cyndaquil out when the Professor interrupted me.

"Oh, goodness!" he yelled out, looking down at his watch. "I have a video call with the rest of the Pokémon Preservation Council in five minutes! How could I have forgotten! You two, you have to leave, now! I have to get all of my papers together!"

He pulled out two Pokédexes from a drawer, and promptly handed them to us. Both device were identical; rectangular with a color mixed between orange and scarlet. I flipped open the cover, revealing two screens; data and pictures on the top screen, which doubled as the cover, and controls on the bottom, along with a list of all Pokémon that were native to the Johto region. The device had no buttons, except for volume and power buttons along the side. Other than those two buttons, it was completely touch-screen use only.

I started to say thank you to Professor Elm for giving us our Pokémon and the Pokédexes, but he closed the door before I could say anything, leaving Frank and I alone in the hallway.

I turned to Frank, and we locked eyes. I posed the nonverbal question: What now? Frank just shrugged at me, before starting down the hallway back towards the lobby. I turned and followed him.

AN: How did you like the rewrite? I think I greatly improved upon a few things, and I also made some things more realistic and I delayed some events for the next chapter. This is also over double the length of the original Chapter 1. Hope you enjoyed it! Chapter 2's and Chapter 3's rewrites will be posted as soon as I finish rewriting them.