Aubrey, a young brunette girl with black orbs from Kanto, has finally been allowed to set out on a Pokémon journey! She and her twin brother, Auburn, have both been studying hard so their father will allow them both to go on journey tomorrow with their new Pokémon. Aubrey someday aspires to become the world champion, to be better than the Elite Four, better than the champion. Her biggest rival is, of course, Auburn, who also wants to be the best.
"Auburn! Aubrey! Go to bed, it's 11 o'clock and you have an early day tomorrow!" Aubrey's father, Brandon, called throughout the house. Aubrey responded with a lousy 'ok' before checking she had everything set for her journey tomorrow. Tomorrow couldn't come faster, for not only did Aubrey leave for her journey, she also got her first Pokémon, something all beginning trainers awaited with anticipation for.
A knock sounded from the door, opening to reveal a fit and slim brunet boy, also known as Auburn; Aubrey's twin.
"Hey Aubrey, did dad happen to tell you what Pokémon he caught for us?" Aubrey shook her head
"Didn't I tell you to go to bed?!" Brandon shouted with a threatening hint seeping through his voice. Aubrey and Auburn sweat dropped at their strange father before bidding good night to one another, falling asleep with dreams of their journeys.
Aubrey woke up with a snap, taking few seconds to register that today she would begin her true destiny. She bathed, clothed, flossed and brushed hurryingly before running off to see her father in the family Poké room, her brother following within seconds. She was clad in a simple white shirt and grey jeans with two belts – one fixed properly and the other diagonal to hold her Poké balls – with black triple buckled near knee-length boots, a black open vest that branched out with a thick waist belt and many plain belts around her wrists, upper arms with a final plain choker. Her long hair tied up – though it made very little difference, Aubrey's hair was still at her knees.
"Now that the both of you are here, I have two Pokémon here. One is an electric type, the other is a fire type, both need an evolution stone to evolve, both are quadrupeds and both maintain their said types after evolution. Guess one of these Pokémon correctly and you can have that Pokémon as your starter." Throughout the whole time, Brandon had his back to his kin, with his arms crossed and eyes closed.
"Growlithe?" Aubrey asked hesitantly.
"NO!"
"Vulpix!" Auburn stated with confidence.
"Congratulations son, you now have a Vulpix, I trust you will raise it well." Brandon was happy, at least in the inside he was. "Aubrey, try again."
"Pikachu's the only one I can think of." Aubrey spoke, regaining her usual collected composure.
"Congratulations, you now have a Pikachu, I believe it will be obedient in your care." Brandon smiled once more before turning round, giving his children their new Pokémon. "You have both been trusted with potentially very strong Pokémon. To become better, you must train diligently, and to test your skills you must battle. If you wish, you may travel to gyms and collect badges to partake in the Indigo League which will be held at the Indigo Plateau. Be warned, these battles are much more difficult than regular trainer battles, and the Indigo League is not walk in the park. As my son and as my daughter, if you choose to challenge this, you will see it through. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear." The twins said simultaneously.
"Good luck, and don't forget to call in every now and then." The proud man watched his children walk off in the early morning. His apprentice and boss, along with their few maids and butlers were also there to see the pair off. Of course, like the pair had originally agreed, they split up and continued along alone. No, they didn't want to travel together. Brandon watched wistfully until they were no longer in sight, resigning to his pathetic excuse for a laboratory. It was quite small you see, but what can you expect? The Battle Pyramid can't hold everything you know.
Aubrey let out her Pikachu, deciding it might like to walk with her. Secretly, she also wanted someone to walk with her.
"So Pikachu, we're going to challenge the Indigo League; we're going to travel the Kanto region looking for gyms to battle and once we get all the badges we need, we're going to the Indigo League. Together, we'll capture Pokémon to help us on our journey and battle alongside with. So, what do you say Pikachu? Do you want to help me?" Aubrey turned her head to the electric mouse Pokémon, awaiting its answer.
"Pika pi pikachu!" The little Pokémon agreed.
"Awesome, first up, is a bit of training and then we'll be heading to Viridian City. There is a gym there but I don't think we should challenge it yet, it's a ground type gym and you have a major disadvantage against ground and rock types so we're just passing through."
"Pika pikachu!" We kept walking until her eye caught something and Pikachu's ears heard something; some Rattata eating berries almost completely hidden by a few trees. Almost.
"Pikachu, use ThunderShock." A surprisingly strong shock hit the Rattata, but none fainted. Most ran away, realising that Pikachu - being an Electric-type - would be a strong opponent but two remained.
"Pika!" Pikachu started egging them on.
"Rattata!" One Rattata charged forward with a Quick Attack while the other stayed behind, readying itself.
"Counter with your own Quick Attack." Pikachu also charged and because of her speed, her power increased more too, easily knocking down the Rattata. The second one leapt into the fray wielding a strong Hyper Fang.
"Use your ThunderShock Pikachu, once more!"
"Pikachuuuuuu!" The attack hit the Rattata as quick as lightning, knocking them out. Aubrey opened her bag and lay a few berries beside the fallen Rattata for when they woke up before continuing on.
"You know Pikachu, you have a lot of power, I think you have some great potential." She smiled at her Pokémon with sincerity.
"Pika pi!"
"You're welcome." A sudden thought struck Aubrey's head. "You know what else? I think you could do with a ribbon or something, so people know you're my Pokémon. Would you like that?"
"Cha!" The little Pikachu nodded happily. Aubrey reached into her bag, pulling out a long red ribbon and tied it around the Pikachu's neck, who cha'd in delight again with her new accessory, making her trainer smile once more.
"Viridian City isn't far, and we've still got a lot of daylight, so let's train a bit and then we'll go get some lunch in the city."
"Pika." Pikachu nodded, bounding along after Aubrey. The duo reached a grassy field where they instantly begun training.
"Pikachu, we're going to work on your Tackle first. See those apple trees over there? You're going to tackle one of them and we'll count however many apples you managed to knock down. After that, you'll sprint around this field twice with Quick Attack and we'll use the apples you knocked down beforehand and you'll destroy them with your ThunderShock."
"Pi pika pi!" Pikachu summoned her strength.
"Now, use Tackle on that tree." Pikachu charged at the tree as hard as she could and knocked down four apples. Aubrey nodded, accepting it and proceeded to command Pikachu to use Quick Attack around the field. Pikachu was quick, there was no denying that, and strong, but Aubrey was going to make her do this twice more after. Once Pikachu finished, she was already breathing heavily.
"You're doing well." Aubrey commented and walked over to the fallen apples. She threw them in the air and commanded a ThunderShock. Three exploded while the last was well over done. "Well you did a good job for our first training session, but we're not done yet. It's time to do it all over."
"Pika pi?"
"Because the aim of training is to help you get stronger, not for recreation."
"Pika!"
"Good, now use Tackle on the next tree."
"Pi, pika pikachu?"
"Because you already weakened the first tree so it's not at its best and won't be for a while. So we use the next tree along, which is still at full power."
"Pikachu!" Satisfied with Aubrey's answer, Pikachu tackled the second tree with a renewed energy to make Aubrey proud and seven apples fell. "Pika! Chu Pi pika pi!"
"That's good, Quick Attack around the field twice." As Pikachu bolted around, Aubrey gathered the apples, already seeing improvements in her Pokémon. And so training continued, with the final result being Pikachu tackled nine apples and proceeded to run around the field three times – for Aubrey – then destroy all nine of the apples. After training, the dynamic duo strolled along further down the path to Viridian city.
Entering through the front gate, Aubrey bowed to the officer at her post, who saluted in return then asked for directions to the Pokémon centre.
"Thank you Officer Jenny."
"You're welcome Aubrey, have a nice day!" Jenny smiled.
As Aubrey and Pikachu walked down the streets, sure of where they were heading, they looked at stores and markets, seeing if anything appealed to them; Pikachu was simply fascinated by everything but kept close. Soon, they reached a T-intersection and the Pokémon centre. Aubrey booked a room for the night, got Pikachu all healed up and left to the cafeteria for lunch. After they ate, Aubrey started speaking to Pikachu about what they were doing next.
"Tomorrow morning, we're leaving early for the Viridian Forest and we'll catch a few new Pokémon, and we'll also have to capture a water type or something so we'll be going to a lake I know of. I also want to go to a village called Bluton Village."
"Bluton Village? I haven't even heard of that place before! Why would you go there?" A boy asked. He had brown spiky hair and was wearing a purple shirt.
"Who are you?"
"Humph, I'm the Gary Oak, grandson of the famous Professor Oak!" He said cockily. Aubrey simply blinked.
"Congratulations." Gary sneered before speaking once more.
"I asked you a question!"
"In Bluton Village, there's a man who gives away an Eevee for an evolution stone, so my Pikachu and I are going trade in stones for Eevee before we head to Pewter City,"
"Evolution stones are rare and valuable, and if you get an Eevee, you're going to need the stones to evolve them into a Flareon, a Jolteon or a Vaporeon so it's pointless in the end!" Gary all but yelled at Aubrey.
"Unless you have another stone." Aubrey countered in her usual calm and collected voice.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, I have three." She said simply.
"Three? Give me one so I can get an Eevee too!" Gary demanded from the brown haired beauty.
"No, I'm trading in all three."
"You're crazy, you could get one, evolve it and then use a Thunderstone to evolve your Pikachu!" Gary tried to reason but Aubrey was stuck on stubborn, and when Aubrey made up her mind, nothing's going to change it anytime soon.
"But I want three Eevee."
"I'm telling you now, that's stupid!" Aubrey simply shrugged. "So what's in Pewter City?"
"Pewter Gym."
"You compete in Gym battles?" Gary asked incredulously.
"I need badges to compete in the Indigo League." Gary started laughing.
"That's hilarious! I have you as my new rival!" Aubrey didn't understand why he was laughing at the thought of her entering and competing but apparently he was entering too. He talks the talk, but does he walk the walk? Aubrey didn't have time to find out so her safest bet was to assume he could walk the walk and defeat him as soon as possible. Gary finally got a hold on himself before asking another question. "What's your name anyway?"
"Aubrey."
"Where do you come from Aubrey?"
"None of your business Gary Oak, now if you'll excuse me, I need to stock up on supplies." Aubrey recalled Pikachu and walked off on Gary Oak, the grandson of the great Pokémon Professor Oak, to pick up some food for herself and her Pokémon, current and future, before retiring to her room for the night.
The next morning, Aubrey and Pikachu left, thanking Nurse Joy for her hospitality beforehand, for the Viridian Forest. Not 20 minutes after they entered the Forest had she found and caught a Pidgeotto, of which Pikachu had easily defeated due to her type advantage, and put a black ribbon around its neck. They continued walking through the forest, stopping for lunch then to train and continue walking until it was time to sleep. This routine continued until the fourth day, when Aubrey encountered one of the most unlikely of Pokémon to spot: a Charmander. Even more unusual, Charmander challenged Aubrey!
"Pikachu, use ThunderShock!" The small but strong shock hit the wild Charmander quickly and weakened it.
"Char!" Charmander countered with a blazing Flamethrower.
"Dodge it!" Pikachu was too slow, and the Flamethrower made contact with force. Aubrey felt like hell when she saw her Pikachu struggling to stand. "You alright Pikachu?"
"Pika!" Pikachu shouted with determination to win despite already having scrapes and burns all over its body, though Pikachu had gotten Charmander as bad as Charmander got her.
"Great, now use Quick Attack!" Pikachu charged towards Charmander but Charmander managed to dodge it and use Tackle, landing the hit. Pikachu soared but managed to land on her feet. "ThunderShock!"
Pikachu used her shocking move but Charmander countered with its Flamethrower, the two moves meeting at the middle. However, Flamethrower began to overpower Pikachu's ThunderShock all too quickly!
"Break it off and move out of the way quickly then use Quick Attack!" Pikachu managed to break off the connection and escape from the Flamethrower's full force attack, darting forwards and slamming her body into the lizard Pokémon!
"Now, use Thunderbolt!" The strong bolt struck the wild Charmander, putting it out for the count, giving Aubrey the rare opportunity to capture it. She threw her Poké Ball and Charmander went into it easily. The red and white ball shook once, twice, three times, click. Pikachu danced with joy at successfully capturing the Charmander. Aubrey let out Charmander along with Pidgeotto, introducing herself and Pidgeotto to Charmander in order to keep it relaxed. Who knows how stressed a Pokémon feels after being captured. Aubrey also decided to place an accessory on the little lizard, though not quite a ribbon, he wanted a different accessory. In the end, Aubrey had put one of her wrist belts on his tail, which he seemed to be quite happy with.
Aubrey followed along the beaten path for a few more days with the same routine she had before capturing Charmander for the next few days - wake up, eat, travel, eat, train, travel then rest for the night. Not to mention the occasional trainer battles in between it all. So far, she had won using a different strategy she developed watching famous Pokémon Masters on TV like the Elite Four or the regional league or even her father and the other Frontier Brains. That's how she had decided she wanted to become a Pokémon Champion, from watching all these incredible battles. That's how both Aubrey and her twin brother decided to become Pokémon Champions.
With Pidgeotto flying above her and Pikachu taking a rest in her Poké ball, Aubrey headed off to a small lake her father told her of, where – if she played her cards right – she could find a water Pokémon. Her father told her he once caught a Dratini there but ended up letting it go since it wanted to be a free Pokémon. The small lake was home to many Pokémon, however, Aubrey's a picky person; she must see potential in her Pokémon or believe that Pokémon can stand her rigorous training before she'll capture it and so far, she's seen very few. She spotted a few Majikarp but didn't have time to help it evolve before she got to Pewter, she found a few Goldeen but she didn't see potential in any of them, she glimpsed a Psyduck or two but honestly she wasn't interested in training a Psyduck.
After roughly an hour, Aubrey groaned in annoyance and fell onto her back, Pidgeotto nudging her face gently with her beak as if asking 'what's wrong?'. Aubrey brought her hand up to the side of Pidgeotto's face, rubbing it gently causing Pidgeotto to close her eyes in content as she leaned her head into Aubrey's palm.
"At this rate, we'll never find a suitable Water Pokémon," Pidgeotto opened her eyes, waiting for Aubrey to continue. "I refuse to challenge the Pewter Gym without one. You, Pikachu and Charmander haven't got much of a chance, you're too inexperienced to battle a Gym Leader with a disadvantage but with a Water Pokémon, it'll even up the playing field and if I train it enough, we'll have the upper hand."
Pidgeotto listened to her trainer and felt saddened at her words. It's been nearly two weeks since Aubrey had captured Pidgeotto but Pidgeotto felt so loved and cared for. Everyday, Aubrey would feed her a healthy meal every morning, afternoon and night. Everyday, Aubrey would have her train and although she was strict, Pidgeotto could feel the difference in her strength, speed and stamina. Everday, any injury Pidgeotto received - if any - from training or a battle, Aubrey'd immediately use a Potion or berry to help her back to full strength. Everyday, in the mornings just after Aubrey had fed her, Aubrey would help her preen her feathers, keeping her coat clean and shiny. So far, Aubrey had tended to just about every one of Pidgeotto's needs and Pidgeotto hadn't done anything for Aubrey. Noticing Aubrey had fallen asleep with a troubled expression, Pidgeotto made her decision. Nuzzling her trainer's cheek affectionately, Pidgeotto flapped her wings and took off.
What was Pidgeotto doing? She was finding a Water Pokémon. She was going to battle it, defeat it and bring it back to Aubrey. Pidgeotto found a river where she knew many Water Pokémon lived. She searched and searched, seeming like forever and year had gone past as she did, though she didn't fly far. Much like at the lake, there were all sorts of Water-types though none fit Aubrey's qualifications, and none in the river fit Pidgeotto's guess of Aubrey's qualifications. Landing on a small tree by the river bank, Pidgeotto watched the river as Pokémon swam by. She almost gave up when she heard a faint 'Squirtle'. Her head whipped around and she saw a Squirtle munching on an apple. Perfect.
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeotto screeched, gaining the Squirtle's attention and used its Quick Attack before it could try to run away, landing the hit and knocking Squirtle back. Pidgeotto thought quickly. What would Aubrey have her do? Pidgeotto's wings glowed as she swooped down towards Squirtle and used Wing Attack back to back.
"Squirt squirtle squirt!" The wild Squirtle blasted a BubbleBeam, the attack hitting Pidgeotto in her belly, knocking her to the ground. Squirtle was about to Tackle Pidgeotto but Pidgeotto managed to dodge it by getting itself in the air. Squirtle fired an onslaught of BubbleBeams but Pidgeotto dodged them all as she ascended, before diving straight on using gravity to amplify her speed and power, tackling Squirtle and knocking it out. Squirtle had simply worn itself out by using rapid fire BubbleBeam for so long, making it easier for Pidgeotto to win. Pidgeotto, though very tired and battered up, picked up Squirtle by the shell with her strong claws and started flying back to Aubrey as fast as she could.
Meanwhile, Aubrey had woken up, frantic as she looked for Pidgeotto. She had Pikachu and Charmander help her search but to no such luck.
"Pidgeotto, where are you?" She called.
"Pika pika!"
"Char charmander!"
"Pidgeotto!" Aubrey, Pikachu and Charmander snapped their heads to the direction they heard the familiar cry. There in the distance was Pidgeotto! The three cheered with relief and joy but stopped when they noticed as Pidgeotto flew closer, she was carrying something along the way. It was a Squirtle! A knocked out Squirtle too...and Pidgeotto seemed pretty beat up. What was Pidgeotto doing? As she landed, carefully placing Squirtle on the ground, Aubrey hugged her, Pikachu jumping on her with a Pikachu smile and Charmander nuzzled her soft feathers affectionately.
"Pidgeotto, I'm relieved to see you're ok but what were you doing?" Pidgeotto nipped at Aubrey's belt, pinching off an empty Poké Ball and held it in front of Aubrey. Aubrey outstretched her hand, opening her hand to take the small ping pong sized ball from Pidgeotto's beak. Pidgeotto motioned to the still swirly eyed Squirtle with her wing. "Did you go out to battle this Squirtle for me?"
"Pidgeot!" Pidgeotto nodded its head. Aubrey smiled appreciatively before enlargening the Poké Ball and throwing it at the Squirtle, capturing it with ease before letting it out again to help it recover.
"Pidgeotto you really did a number on this Squirtle, she's been out awhile. But she really did a number on you too." Not long after tending to Pidgeotto's wounds, Squirtle woke, confused about where she was and why she was there. It took a little while for her to understand but her Pokémon made it easier by reassuring calmly but happily and kindly. Squirtle also loved her ribbon placed cutely her shell, which made Squirtle like Aubrey more! She was a tad bitter with Pidgeotto but Pidgeotto didn't care, she felt proud she'd helped her trainer catch a Water Pokémon after all. After packing her things up, Aubrey decided they should hit the road. She recalled everyone but Charmander, who she had decided to let walk with her for the rest of the day.
"We're nearly at Bluton Village Charmander and soon, we'll have three Eevee joining our team."
"Mander Char!"
"You're certainly excited." Aubrey noted seeing Charmander walk with a skip in his step.
Within two days, Aubrey had reached the village. One of the first things she saw was the backyard of a house that held lots of little Eevee. She knocked on the door, Pikachu at her side knocking too. The door opened to reveal on elderly man.
"Can I help you young lady?"
"Good afternoon sir," Aubrey bowed. "I was wondering, are you Mr. Poole?"
"Why yes and who might you be?" He was short, wrinkled and balding but he was kind and Aubrey could tell so in turn, Aubrey was polite, like she always is to her elders.
"My name's Aubrey and I looking to trade some Evolution Stones for some Eevee please."
"Ah that's wonderful! Come inside and I'll show you to where I keep the Eevee!" He welcomed her inside and he guided her to a small paddock of sorts where Eevee were running around. Lots jumped to greet the old man and many jumped to greet Aubrey. "So how many Eevee would you like?
"Three please."
"I'd like to see three evolution stones please." Aubrey reached inside her bag, careful not to let any of the stones come too close to the Eevee or to Pikachu. She handed the Thunderstone, Water stone and Fire stone to Mr. Poole. "I'll take these inside and make sure they're real while you decide which three you'd like."
Many Eevee flocked to Aubrey's side, but she simply couldn't decide until she had an idea.
"Who would like to come with me on a journey? You'll join my Pokémon team, we'll challenge gyms around the region and we'll compete in the Indigo Plateau together, we'll be a team." She said, hoping it would narrow them down. There were soon only seven Eevee left and Aubrey didn't know how to get rid of four, it would be harsh to say 'I don't want you', no matter how you said it.
"I would also like to mention that the training will be tough so if you don't want to do it, I don't need you on my team. If you drag down the entire team because you're not trying, I won't hesitate to trade you away." Two Eevee decided it wasn't for them, five remained. Aubrey had hoped it would be easier to do this, but with the adorable faces, she couldn't simply toss any aside. She did however, pick two out she would take with her and decided the other three could decide among themselves. One of the other Eevee left without complaint, and after two Eevee talked it out with a flurry of 'vee!' this and that, one left, leaving the final choice there, sitting all cute like.
"I see you've made your decision, are you sure about this though? I don't give refunds." Mr. Poole returned.
"I'm sure, thank you Mr. Poole." She captured the three Eevee and set off to Pewter City, there was a pretty badge waiting for her.
To be continued.