Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fanfiction. Pokémon is the property of GameFreak and Nintendo. I do not own anything here except for my OCs. I would appreciate it if you didn't sue me.

Prologue

Life is never simple. Full of ups and downs, good days and bad days. The one thing predictable about it is its unpredictability. There come times when all seems lost, hope nowhere to be found, the light at the end of the tunnel long since disappeared. During these tough times there is only one thing that we can still rely on. Our friends.

Friends come in all shapes and forms, as different as snowflakes that fall from the sky, can be found anywhere. But one thing they share in common, friends will always be there for you. Hold them close, for one day you may depend on them.

Chapter 1: My special friend.

I cautiously peered down below, from my hiding spot up in the hollow of a tree. I had been careful with choosing my footing, avoiding the softer mud as to not leave any tracks. The wind was also blowing in the same direction that I had run from, so less chances of my scent being tracked. But despite all the precautions I had taken, my gut feeling told me I would be found. I always got found, no matter what changes I implemented.

A rustling in the nearby bushes made me back up into my hidey hole. I held my breath as I gazed from the shadows ... before a Rattata scampered out in a hurry.

I allowed myself to exhale in relief. False alarm. I loosened myself, my muscles were so tense from the anticipation. But just as I was about to squat down, I felt a rush of air to my right side which impacted me.

Ouff. I was knocked right out of the tree and onto the ground. I pushed up with my arm into a sitting position, and threw a glare at my attacker. I was met with a familiar brown furry face smiling up at me.

"Eievui!"

I grinned back, giving my best friend an affectionate rub on the head. "Well done Scoot. You found me in record time!"

The Eevee beamed at the compliment, her smile growing wider. I looked back at the tree I had tumbled from. Ah, I see. Scoot had caught me off guard by scaling the tree and launching at me from a higher branch. Who knew Eevees could climb?

"I think that's all the time we have for today," I said, getting back up. "But just you wait. One of these days I'll win."

"Eievui," Scoot replied, cheekily sticking out her tongue.

"Hmph," I smirked back. "Well there's a first time for everything."

We headed back the way we came, departing from the forest where we regularly played. The trees began to thin, a tell tale sign we were reaching civilisation. Soon enough, familiar buildings emerged in the distance. We were back in Viridian City.

"Hey Zach!" I turned to see a girl with shoulder length red hair, slightly shorter than me, and dressed in a pink blouse, and a white skirt. "And hello Scoot." She bent down to pet my Eevee on the head, who was clearly enjoying the attention.

"Hi Ivy!" This was my best friend Ivy, who I had known for as long as I can remember. "How was your day?" We started walking back to the city as we talked.

"Boring as per usual," she said with a half-hearted grin, "nothing much for me in this city." Ah, that's right. Ivy longed to be a Pokémon Trainer and explore the land. However, she kept getting held back from pursuing her dreams due complications in her life.

"You know most would say "Hang in there" or "You'll get your chance someday", but I'm not most people. If you got a dream, you got to make it happen. You got to go pick those peaches while they're ripe for the taking, before someone snags them and leaves all the rotten ones."

Ivy had been listening intently. She had a look on her face that seemed part amused, part enlightened, and part... something else. "Since when did you sign up for motivational speech classes?" she teased.

"Spur of the moment. I said what I felt you needed to hear."

"Well then, Mr. Inspirational," Ivy said walking ahead of me, before turning around so she was walking backwards, "it's been a while since we've done something fun. Want to hang out, say tomorrow?"

"Sure," I said nonchalantly, "what do you have in mind? Do you want to go catch a movie?"

"Hmm, I was thinking something a little more..." Ivy stopped and closed the gap between us, "...experimental." She finished, before poking me on the nose.

Umm, okay? "So you want to try something new?" I asked, not sure where this was going. "I guess we could go shopping, I'll have to try it at some point in my life. Or we could head down to Pewter City to... umm, look at rocks?"

Ivy giggled. "Oh Zach, you can be so thick sometimes", giving me a tap on the noggin. She glanced down as Scott snickered. "Your Eevee seems to get my drift, perhaps she can help you put two and two together."

I glared at Scoot, "Whose side are you on anyway?" The Eevee just sat there giving me the innocent puppy... umm, Eevee eyes. Ugh, those eyes, those pathetically, adorable eyes. I swear I could see flowers and love hearts wafting off her as she gave me that look. Just can't stay annoyed at that sickeningly sweet look. I gave in to her cuteness powers and petted her. Scoot purred contently, having won again.

"Aww, you two are so adorable." Ivy remarked, with her both hands pressed against one of her cheeks. "Anyway, meet me at the ice cream store. Say at 3 in the afternoon?"

"Sure, I'll be there," I stood back up, "Just make sure you're not late again." I said jabbing at her infamous tardiness, determined to make it even.

"I'm wherever I'm needed," Ivy smirked at boldness, "And my Ivy sense tells me, you'll need me soon." Before I could think of a remark to that, Ivy sprinted off. I watched her receding figure before she disappeared over the hill. Man, I just can't read that girl sometimes.

"I think we should be going too Scoot." I said turning to the Eevee, only to find she wasn't there at my feet.

"Scoot?" I looked around to see she had walked ahead of me. "Hey wait up you troublesome Eevee!" I began sprinting after her, desperate to keep up with the Eevee.

AN: This looks like a good place to leave it. This chapter is just to set the scene and introduce the characters, especially showing just how close Zach and Scoot are. We'll get to the more exciting stuff very shortly. Hope you guys like what you see so far. I appreciate any feedback and constructive criticism.

Though I generally don't respond to reviews in my fanfic, as I feel they make it messy and the chapter overly long. I will only address it in the story if it's a FAQ or if the review led me to make a change in the story. For all other questions I'll PM you if necessary.