Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

The Beginning

It was a dream. No, is. I mean, how could it not be? It was packed with Pokémon, which everyone in the world knew were extinct, due to famine, plague, killing each other, you name it. There were so many theories it made one's head spin. Anyways, the weird thing was that they weren't attacking each other. Instead, they were just looking within their various groups-you know: Fire, Water, Grass, etc.-all at the same point. Then, after I looked around a moment, I realized that point…was me!

Before I could think too much on that, a bright light appeared. All of the Pokémon bowed before it, so I decided to do that as well. When the light dimmed, I got up and saw the source of the light. I was in shock and awe. It was Arceus, god of Pokémon!

Naturally, I started to panic. But before too long, I heard a voice in my head which I somehow knew was Arceus.

"Relax, mortal. You are not in my true presence, merely an extension. I have bothered to come here to tell you the following: The Pokémon, contrary to popular belief, are not dead, but fled instead from human tyranny. Your people and mine have been separated for millennia, but I believe that, using a single representative, the two can be united once again, with peace between the two."

"You may be wondering why I am telling you this. Well, the truth is simple. I have chosen you as representative. Only you can unite the Pokémon and humans peacefully."

I had no idea what to say. Fortunately, that got taken care of rater quickly.

"Redoni! Get down here! Breakfast!"

I woke up quickly and sat up. Man, my mother had a way of piercing even the deepest sleep, even worse than a Loudred sometimes. Wait, what? I just referenced a Pokémon. Why I did that, even though they had been gone for millennia, I didn't know. I shrugged it off and went downstairs.

I walked into the kitchen. "Morning, Mom."

She smiled. "Morning, Redoni. How did you sleep?"

"Eh, it probably would have been better if I had slept in," I grumbled. "Well, I'm awake now. May as well make the most of it. What's for breakfast? I'm hungrier than a Snorlax."

My mother glanced at me. "Hungrier than a what?"

I frowned, puzzled. "You know, a Snorlax? Large, Normal-type, can eat huge quantities of food in one-"

I stopped. What was I saying? Pokémon, gone for millennia, no one talks about them anymore. So why did I just use a reference for the second time that day. What the heck?

My mom stopped completely, thinking for a moment. "…What's with the Pokémon reference all of a sudden?"

I got nervous. "Nothing. What's for breakfast?"

She looked at me a little longer, then shrugged it off. "Well, we have bacon, toast, eggs, the whole sha-bang!"

I looked up from the table. "Really? What's the occasion?"

She smiled. "Oh, no occasion. Just thought that you'd need a ton of energy for Eoniai and Tardon."

Oh, yeah. Those two. Eoniai and Tardon had been my best friends for as long as I could remember. We did everything together, although I will say those two could run circles around me, literally. Tardon also has this… I dunno, obsession with archeology and finding ruins and such. Eoniai and I never complained, we had as much fun as he did.

So, yeah. Mom had a really good point. Only a Ninjask could outlast their energy, and that was on a good day. Wh-three?! Three means no coincidences anymore. I kept trying to ignore it.

The food was finally prepared. Mom and I ate, her a lot quieter than usual, which worried me. It's not like her not to talk. Sometimes the talkativeness annoyed me, but I had gotten used to it.

We finished eating. I put my stuff in the sink and said, "Well, see ya, Mom! I'm off to see Eoniai and Tardon!"

But before I could run off and get ready, she said, "Redoni, hold on. I have to talk with you. Is there anything bothering you?"

I paused. Then I told her about my dream, and my Pokémon trains of thought. She stood there a moment, mulling something over. Then she finally spoke. "Do you still have that heirloom your father gave you?"

Before my father left for a business trip in the Kalos region, he had given me a wristband of solid white. He didn't say where he got it, just that it was incredibly important and not to ever lose it. It was currently on my dresser, kind of on its own so it wouldn't be lost in my stuff.

I spoke. "Yeah, of course. Why?"

She hesitated. "Before you go out today, put it on and never let it out of your sight."

I looked quizzically at her. "Ok, got it, but Mom, why?"

She sighed. "I knew this day would come. I hoped it wouldn't, but I knew it would." She was almost in tears, I could see that.

I was officially worried. Mom had never cried, I never could see even traces of it. "Mom, you're not making any sense. What's going on?"

She took a shaky breath. "Redoni, promise me you'll make wise choices beyond your years. Tardon can explain, but not directly. I won't see you for a long time."

She was now all out crying. I asked her what she meant, but she told me to go get ready. I didn't want to leave her upset, but she wanted me to leave, so I left.

I went upstairs to my room. The first thing I did was go over to the band and put it on. Then I proceeded to get ready.

I came downstairs, ready for the day. Jeans, a t-shirt, sneakers, and on impulse, my dad's lucky hat, blue with a stripe of orange around it.

I was about to head out, but my mom stopped me again. She was holding a backpack.

She looked at me and smiled. "I've been preparing for this day a long time. This is everything you need for a journey as long as yours will be. You know about the inns on the way."

I nodded. One inn in every city, that was how it worked.

She looked at me closely. "Redoni. My son. Good luck. If we are both lucky, I will see you again. Good-bye."

I still was confused, but I shouldered the backpack. "Mom, I still don't know what this is about, but…I hope to see you again."

We hugged. She hugged me tighter than usual, which I still didn't quite understand. We separated, she smiled one last time, then I headed out.

Pallet Town's not exactly big, but it's still homey. Before I got too far though, I heard, "Hey, Red! Red!"

I turned. Yup, right on schedule. Eoniai and Tardon. And…was Tardon holding something?

They caught up to me. Eoniai asked, "Hey, Red, how you doing?"

I replied, "Good, good. Hey, Tardon, what's that you got there?"

Tardon was pretty much bouncing on the spot. Yeah, I wasn't kidding when I said hyper.

He started to talk, luckily able to control his word speed pretty well. "Well, we had found a lot of our finds starting at Oak's lab, right? So I thought 'I'll go there and check some stuff out, see if I can't find something else!' So, I go to his lab, and he's there, researching his latest project. I go up to him and say, 'Hey, Prof, how you doing?' He says, 'I'm doing well, Tardon. Looking for another thing to find?' I say, 'Yeah, pretty much. Whatcha got?' He pondered a moment, looked at me, and then went into that back room. He came back out a minute later with this scroll in his hand. He hands it to me and says, 'You're friends with that Redoni kid, right?' I say, 'Yeah, why?' He says, 'Here, this scroll should explain some things. He'll know what I mean.' So, even though I'm a little confused, I take the scroll and leave. I find Eoniai, see you, and, well, you know what happened from there."

I gave myself a minute to take it in, then I asked to see the scroll. He handed it to me.

Before I could unroll it, Tardon said, "The Prof didn't say exactly what was on the scroll, but he said it had something about Pokémon and a band…"

I looked at him sharply, then unraveled the scroll. It mostly was covered in a language none of us knew, but there was one thing I recognized instantly. Right in the center of the paper was a design, exactly the same as my band! I held up the band to look closer, but then a bright white light started coming out of the paper! The lightshow went on a few seconds, then it finally dimmed down. The three of us looked at each other, then looked at the scroll. It no longer held the band design. Instead, it read the following:

"Follow the path to the land of the masters. There you will find what ye seek. The path is old, but the journey is new. Follow the path to your destiny."

Right under that inscription was drawn a map. It showed the entire Kanto region. This particular map led to the northwest, to the Indigo Plateau.

Eoniai saw the map and said, "The Indigo Plateau? No one's been there except…"

We all remembered in somber silence. Legend told of incredible masters of Pokémon. But, when the Pokémon started to do whatever it was they did, the masters were nowhere to be found. When someone was sent to look for them, they found the plateau completely abandoned. No one in sight, much less the masters.

I snapped Eoniai and Tardon out of it. "Guys, whatever this thing is, it's big. We have to check this out."

They looked at each other, then looked back at me and nodded. With all that done, we set out on our journey, unsure of what to come, but excited to see what it would be.

Hello, everyone! I'm Wedrestamos, and I'm new to the site. The use of the nickname Red is completely coincidental and does not refer to the actual character. Please review, and I hope that you enjoy!