(I know…I know…This is just to see what people think…I'm going to work more on it, but it will be slow…so if you like it I'll write more. Based off of Pokemon Emerald, with a few things barrowed from Diamond and Pearl, though bare with me I don't' own them so I'm not well versed in those games or the new Pokemon. Also, aside from Seth, who is one of the main characters, I have not created any made-up trainers. All trainers in this story can be found in Emerald.)

Chapter 1

Destiny (Seth)

One legend ends,

Thus does one begin.To every end
Is a beginning.

Take to the sky!

A roar of cheering erupted from the crowds of the coliseum as the announcer's words filled the air. Blue eyes closed and a smile on his face, the young man thought nothing of the words as he had heard them all before. A cape bellowing in the wind behind him, a faceless trainer before him, blue eyes opened as he released the small red and white ball in his hand. The shier force emitting from the released creature cause the wind to blow the young man's brown hair. A loud roar echoed through the stadium as a large silver colored Pokemon stood.

"Metal Claw!" the boy commanded as the creature, with a nod of understanding, rushed forward. Its front claws seemed to glow with a silver light as they struck the unseen Pokémon, causing another eruption of cheering from the crowd.

"And Seth has done it once again! The Ever Grande Champion lives on to fight another challenger! Is there nothing that can stop this young trainer?!" Seth grinned as he recalled the Pokémon and turned, with all intentions to retire for the evening…he was done battling worthless challengers.

"Seth! Seth! Seth! Seth!" the crowd seemed to chant and the young trainer grinned, pumping a fist into the air at the praise.

"Seth! Seth! …Seth….SETH!" And just like that the fantasy had ended. Lying in a crumpled heap on the floor thirteen year old Seth Decona rubbed his head as the pain quickly seeped in. In a tangled mess of sheets and blankets Seth's blue eyes met his mother's own green. He smiled sheepishly before the brown haired woman sighed as she turned.

"Fine, next time you decide to become a trainer I won't wake you up" she said in a slight huffing voice. Seth's mind finally caught up as he jumped up, only to fall once more onto the floor. The noise once again made his mother sigh as she made her way downstairs in the small two story house.

"So he's up?" a thirty-four year old man spoke from the kitchen table, taking a sip from his coffee. The woman nodded before she sat down across from him, stirring something into her own cup of coffee, which had been left in its spot before she left to wake up their son.

"Kenji…do you think he's ready?" she asked softly to the brown haired blue eyed man in front of her. Kenji opened his eyes and smiled, straightening his tie on his business suite before he spoke.

"He's his mother's son after all…you are the trainer in the family, and this is something he's wanted to do for a long time…"

"Two times in fact" she spoke softly, taking a sip from her coffee as a small 'mew' caused her to look down. A small pink cat-like Pokémon looked up expectantly as the woman smiled, scratching the small Pokémon lightly behind the ears.

"He wasn't ready those times…and besides, things happened here that neither of us could have foreseen" Kenji spoke softly before chuckling as a larger, purple and yellow cat-like Pokémon pawed at his leg lightly.

"Delcatty…I did feed you, you know?" He smiled softly before he looked over to his wife.

"Skitty here wants fed too…though you two probably ate it already…didn't you" the Skitty looked over to the Delcatty for a quick moment before they both trotted off quickly to another room. Both adults laughed as the sound of feet running was heard coming from the stairs. With a defined thud on the floor from the steps, which caused both to think the boy had skipped the last couple steps, Seth ran into the kitchen, a both excited and embarrassed look on his face.

"Sorry…overslept" was all he said as he sat down. The boy was wearing a pair of grey jeans and an old pair of black sneakers which looked like they had seen better days. Wearing a traditional Pokeball belt in order to hold his Pokémon, on it was also a place for a Pokenav, though Seth himself didn't have enough money for such a device. After he finished putting on his black fingerless gloves, Seth straightened his red and grey T-shirt. On the bottom right side of the shirt was a symbol of a Pokeball in red and over the shirt he wore a pure black vest.

"Looking sharp son" Kenji said with a smile as he looked over to his son. Seth smiled back and looked over at his mom, who had gotten up and brought over a plate of eggs, bacon, sausage and toast.

"Whoa, Mom went all out" Seth said as he looked down at the food and up at his mother, "thanks Mom" The woman smiled back as she sat down, taking another sip of her coffee.

"Well, it is your last home-made meal for a while, so you better enjoy it" she looked down sadly at her coffee cup which, while it went unnoticed by Seth, Kenji caught out of the corner of his eye.

"I will Mom, make no mistake of that" he sent a bright smile her way before he began digging into the meal in front of him. There was relative silence for about a minute before Kenji coughed lightly.

"So have you thought about which Pokémon you'll pick from Professor Birch?" Seth swallowed a rather large piece of sausage before he looked over to his father.

"I think so…but I'm not sure, there are so many pros and cons to each one…right?" He asked softly, looking at Kenji for confirmation. Being the son of a businessman had its perks, Seth supposed, as he was able to look at things logically and confirm the right course of action…but being his mother's son, as Kenji had stated, also caused Seth to end the thinking process if anyone he knew or cared for was in danger. Kenji nodded to the boy's question as he finished his coffee.

"True, but there are ways to overcome those cons if you work hard; Pokémon training isn't like business Seth" Seth nodded at the answer before he returned to his food. Kenji looked to the clock on the wall before he stood, "Well, Mr. Stone is a patient man, but he won't let me be any later…Seth" Seth looked over and stood quickly as the older man took him into a hug. Seth hugged back as he closed his eyes; getting the smell of wood and aftershave stuck in his mind…he wanted to make a memory of this…since he really didn't know when he would be seeing his father again. Kenji smiled at the young boy before he pulled away.

"I'm sure you'll be a great trainer Seth…just work hard, and know that you can always come home if you need anything, understand?" Seth nodded, blinking away a tear before his father could see it. Kenji smiled and pulled away, walking towards his wife.

"Give him a good send off Cora" Kenji whispered softly as he hugged his wife. Cora nodded and kissed her husbands cheek before he pulled away and walked to the door. With a swift open and close Kenji Decona left for his job at Rustboro's Devon Incorporated. Seth and Cora sat down to finish, though Seth seemed to be eating a bit slower than before. After a few minutes of silence Seth spoke softly, causing his mother to look to him.

"I'll be ok, you know?" Cora looked to him and sighed, a sad smile on her face.

"I know, but a mother can't help but worry…" Seth smiled softly at her before he looked down to a small thing on his leg. Seth sighed as he bent down, pulling the small mushroom Pokémon from his foot. The Pokémon looked at Seth happily, bouncing slightly in his arms.

"Shroom ish, Shroom!" Seth chuckled and placed the small Pokémon on the table near his now cleared plate.

"You got it Shroomish, get to work" The small Shroomish happily began to clean the plate before him. Cora sighed and smiled softly.

"Normally I would take your plate away and tell you not to do that…but I suppose just once can't hurt…" She smiled as she stood, patting her small Pokémon before moving over towards the counter.

"Mom, where is my backpack, actually?" Cora turned to the boy with a smile, holding out a forest green backpack. As Seth stood to take the bag Cora began to speak once more.

"There are a few bottles of water inside, as well as some packs of detergent, don't want your clothes getting all dirty and starting to smell. There's a change of clothes and the essentials in there" Seth took the bag, slightly stunned as he looked inside.

"Mom…Why'd you do this for me?"

"I didn't, your Father did. He told me to tell you to think of it as his present to you for becoming a trainer." Seth smiled and looked inside. Just as she said everything was neatly placed inside, "And this is from me" in Cora's hand, which Seth hadn't noticed before, was a smaller red bag that tied onto his backpack, "It's a sleeping bag for when you need to sleep outside…and I want you to have this as well" Cora pulled out one more thing from her pocket. Seth stared at it in sight confusion before he looked up to his mother.

"A bandanna?" Cora smiled and nodded.

"It'll keep that long hair of yours out of your eyes" as she tied the black and red cloth around Seth's forehead she explained, "I wore it when I traveled around…I called it my lucky bandanna…maybe it'll do the same for you. There, now don't you look handsome"

"Mom, I want to look intimidating…" he said softly before he smiled, his eyes holding back tears, "But thanks…I'll keep it safe, don't you worry" Cora hugged the young boy before her tightly. She felt like it was only the day before when she held the small bundle in her arms. And now she was letting him out into the world…just like she had all those years ago. She smiled down at the young man before she pulled away.

"Seth…like your father said, come home anytime…Shroomish will miss you so you had better come by any chance you get" she smiled as Seth nodded, smiling back just as bright. Ushering the young man to the door; Mother watched as her Son left out into the world. Cora smiled though, despite her sadness. He'll be fine… she thought as a tear fell down her face. Seth looked back, a few feet from their house in Petalburg as he waved; ready to make the trek towards New Bark Town in order to begin his very own Pokémon journey.

Destiny (May)

Child of the Norm

Moon rising
In the east
Away from the sun…

Embrace the Sea!

"This was a bad idea from the beginning…" as soon as the words left her mouth the young, twelve year old girl cried out in pain as a particularly heavy box fell onto her foot. Cursing her luck and that she had to live so far away before now the girl pushed the box away from her and sat atop it smirking triumphantly, as if to say she had won. With a sigh the young girl removed her green Pokeball bandanna revealing her straight brown hair, framing her face as it was no longer held back due to the bandanna. With a slight huff she dusted off her long red and white sleeveless shirt, slightly covering her black short-shorts. Around her waist was a green fanny pack, which was more elaborate as it could hold larger items, much like a backpack.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she yawned daintily, she was startled by the sudden stopping of the vehicle she was in. The moving van was flooded with light as the large backdoor opened; the intruding sunlight instantly caused the young girl to cover her eyes.

"Vigoroth" a gruff voice spoke as a strong looking Pokémon about the size of the girl passed her, picking up a nearby box and leaving the van, followed soon by another white Vigoroth. Jumping from the van she stumbled slightly before she replaced the bandanna atop her head.

"May! May come inside and have a look!" the girl, May, looked over towards the two story house with an almost bored look on her face. Her mother, a woman of 30 with long brown hair and a blue blouse with a long brown skirt, came from the house, her blue eyes sparkling in an almost far off look, "Isn't this town so wonderful, quaint but such a lovely air of peace…I think we're going to like it here!"

"Mom…I don't really understand why we have to live two towns away from Dad" May spoke softly, looking around, trying to figure out what was around her. The town was small…almost too small to be called a town. May counted up to five houses, including her own home which she and her mother now stood outside. What she didn't count, though, was a large building that seemed to sit at the far end of town. May's mother caught her gaze and followed it before she smiled.

"The reason is that there were no houses for sale in Petalburg city, but your father was able to get this house, which suites us just fine. Your father will come home every night, as it's not even a day's walk to get to Petalburg." May nodded, her eyes still focused on the large building in the distance. Her mother smiled brighter, "I see you found Professor Birch's Lab." May turned to her in confusion, "He's a friend of your father's. He was the one who got us this house, its right next to his own." She pointed to the house next door which May noticed was very similar to her own.

"I'm…gonna go see my room" May said softly as she walked past her mother. She didn't know what she was feeling but she felt like being alone. In truth this was the first time May had ever really gone without her father outside of school. The feeling of her father not being around when she needed him seemed to get to her slightly. She sighed as she ascended the steps, finding a Vigoroth leaving the first room on the right down the small hallway. The Vigoroth saluted her as he walked past and May figured it meant her room was done. Entering she found all of her things inside, a TV, a computer, her GameCube. She smiled, walking towards her computer.

Maybe I'll send Dad an e-mail she thought as she booted up the contraption. A few minutes later the sign that the computer was loading was seen with a Torchic, a Mudkip, and a Treeko dancing to an unheard tune. Smiling at the picture she leaned back in her chair, waiting for it to load. As her eyes shifted they caught sight of a picture sitting on the desk next to the computer. Picking it up, she smiled happily at the memory. In it was herself, along with her mother and father, taken about a year ago. They stood outside the Goldenrod City Gym, where her father, Norman, had trained for as long as she could remember. Norman was originally asked to become the Goldenrod City Gym leader, but due to the talent he could see rising in another young trainer at the gym, he turned down the offer and gave it to Whitney, the Gym's current Leader.

May sighed softly, "If you'd have just taken the job you would have had to uproot us…" her voice almost had an air of malice to it, but she couldn't hold it for long. Her father wanted to become a gym leader…and he was chosen to lead the Petalburg Gym…she should be proud. There was a beeping sound as the computer finished loading and May finally was allowed to access her e-mail…only to find…

"Hmm? What's this?" the message read '1 Item in Stock', which confused May even more. She knew the systems that were in place, you were able to put things into storage via your computer, but she hadn't put anything in there…had she? Opening up the filing system, May quickly found the item that had been placed in her computer, and a message along with it.

"If you wish to become a trainer" the message read, "Here is something that everyone needs. I hope you come to visit me sometimes in Petalburg…I know it must be hard for you to suddenly have to move, but I know you'll be alright. Remember, if you need me I'm only a few hours away, I love you May…and don't give up, who knows, you might find a nice boyfriend here huh? Anyway, I put this in your computer before I sent you and your mother off…so use it if you like. Whatever your choice is, I love you May, Love, Dad" May smiled at the message and removed the Potion from her computer. Sticking it into her bag she stood, shutting down the computer.

"May!" the voice of her mother shouted out from down below, "May! Come quick!" May turned and ran down the steps, fearing what had happened to her mother.

"Mom!?" she called, her voice filled with fear before she saw her mother standing in front of the Television with a smile on her face.

"May! Come here, I think you're dad's going to be on TV!" May, slightly irritated at her mother, quickly brightened up as she ran around to see a female reporter standing outside what she assumed to be the Petalburg gym, as she hadn't really gotten a good look at it.

"…and that's our report from in front of the Petalburg Gym with Gym leader Norman Maple. We now send you to the studio for the weather." The report ended as the scene shifted to two people sitting behind a desk. May and her mother either sighed or groaned in irritation.

"I'm sorry Honey; we must have just missed him…" May smiled at her mother, only slightly insincerely.

"Its fine, he'll be home tonight so we can ask him how it went then, right?" her mother nodded as she turned, walking towards the kitchen.

"You know, I invited Mrs. Birch over for dinner tonight, why don't you go introduce yourself to them before they come over?"

"Mom" was the droned reply, which caused Cynthia to groan in frustration, she knew what was coming next, "Why do you I have to go introduce myself in they're coming here anyway?!"

"Cause if you don't" Cynthia replied, poking her head through the doorway to look her daughter in the eyes, "I'll tell her and her SON so many embarrassing stories about you that you'll never be able to show your face to them…so either you introduce yourself, or I introduce you." May instantly understood.

Outside the sun was high, as it was around noontime the short walk next door hardly did anything to May though as she knocked onto the door. As she did a sudden noise inside caused her to jump as she heard a woman's voice shouting out about the crash. A few muffled cries and footsteps later May was standing in front of an open door, a woman with brownish-blonde hair smiling.

"Yes, Hello?" she asked before catching a good look at May. The woman smiled and took her hands, "Oh! You must be Norman's Daughter May! Oh, it's been so long since I've seen you, not since you were just born" ushering May in before she even had the chance to speak, May quickly found herself on the couch with a drink in her hand. Not sure how this had happened May politely put the drink down on the coffee table in front of her and sat there, watching as Mrs. Birch shuffled around the room in her green shirt and blue jeans…she looked like she was ready to do garden work.

"If…I'm interrupting I can go…" May began but was stopped from standing by a seemingly flustered Mrs. Birch waver her hands in front of her.

"No, no it's fine, I just need to find my son, he should be up in his room…but-" she stopped as a whistle shot from the kitchen, "Oh, the Tea…um…May, do you believe you could go upstairs and see if my son is in his room? It's the first one on the left, thank you dear!" she finished her sentence with a shout as she ran into the kitchen. May felt herself grow even more confused as she stood slowly, grumbling to herself.

"…Why am I doing this? I don't even know them really and already she's asking favors…" As she entered the room she was seeing what appeared to be a mirror image of her own, although more manly than hers was. Walking into the room she looked around…no sign of anyone. She sighed, turning to walk out of the room before her eyes caught something. On the desk sat a small red and white Pokeball. She cocked her head in slight confusion before she walked towards it, reaching out to pick it up.

He won't mind if I look, I'm sure… Were her thoughts until…

"Oh man, I'm late, I'm late I'm-" the boy's voice stopped instantly as he faced May, his blond, very close to silver, hair halted from falling into his eyes by the green and black headband very similar to May's bandanna. An awkward silence filled the room as blue eyes met green. The Boy's red and black shirt was form fitting, but not skin tight, where he also wore a pair of faded black pants, over which were a pair of even darker black and grey shorts. May looked back up at the boy's face and blushed slightly.

"Um…Hi" was all that escaped May's mouth, not sure what else to say.

"…Who are you, and why are you in my room?" was the boy's question. His voice was deep, contrast to May's cheerful voice. May blushed deeper as she pulled her hand away from the Pokeball.

"I-I was…well, you're mom sent me up here to find you…and I'm May…May Maple" the boy looked at her for a moment before nodding, a slight smirk on his face.

"Oh, I get it; you're Norman's kid huh?" He walked forward, studying her as he walked around her, stopping at he reached her side, "Figured you'd be a boy". May's blush turned to one of anger as she turned to face him.

"And why can't a Gym Leader have a daughter?" she asked hotly, all awkwardness suddenly forgotten, "Girls are just as good as boys, and I'll tell you another thing, I-"

"I'm Brendan" the words left his mouth as he smiled, holding out a hand to her. May's sentence was forgotten as she stared at the boy, now dubbed Brendan, confused. Brendan smiled brightly, as if he had been attempting to push her buttons, just to see what she would do. May, while against her greater judgment, couldn't help but smile as well as she shook the boy's gloved hand.

"…Well, either way it's good to meet you" Brendan nodded as he turned away; picking up the Pokeball May had been tempted to pick up earlier.

"Saw you were interested in my friend here, huh?" He said, holding up the small red and white ball, "My dad gave him to me a week ago…do you have a Pokémon yet?" the question was sudden, taking May once again off guard.

"Um…well no, I haven't really planned on getting one yet, but…"

"I can help you catch one, if you'd like?" Brendan offered as he retracted the Pokeball and placed it on his belt. May's face brightened as she nodded vigorously.

"Really?! Oh that would be great, I've always wanted to catch one, and having help would be so great!"

"Yeah, no problem I-" he stopped his talking as a beep reached their ears. In a flash a gold color small contraption was in his right hand, slipped open to see a message that had been received. It was a Pokenav, expensive, but useful, as it was used to find your location, check Pokémon, and it even acted as a Cell Phone. May wondered how he had gotten one if it was so hard to get.

"Oh man…I forgot…" He sighed and closed the Pokenav, looking at May with a disappointed look in his eyes, "I'm sorry May, I have to go out and help my dad with his research…we'll have to put it off for another day." May nodded in understanding. Brendan sighed and turned away, sitting in front of his computer. When may questioned what he was doing he answered, "I'm looking up information on the Pokémon on Route 103. That's where I plan on going today…" May nodded and said her goodbyes before walking out of the room and down the stairs. Not seeing Mrs. Birch anywhere in her immediate view May opted for leaving the house as she opened the front door. Brendan, hearing the door close, looked out his window, catching a glimpse of May leaving before he returned to his work, a small smirk on his face as he continued typing what moves a Zigzagoon should know at Lever 7.

"Help!" the sound of the voice was quick and clear as May, pulled from her thoughts of the conversation with Brendan, turned towards the small girl who was running down the street. Fear was etched on her young face as she ran, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Acting on instinct May ran towards the girl and met her on the sidewalk.

"What is it what happened?" she asked quickly, the girl looked up to May, hiccupping lightly.

"I…I heard a man scream, I think he might be in trouble!" May nodded and looked around…there weren't exactly anyone around who might be able to help…Brendan…but he probably wasn't around anymore…and her mom wouldn't know what to do…May finally came up with a solution and looked to the small girl.

"Take me to him" The girl nodded and ran off towards the entrance to town with May following behind. After two minutes of running May was now outside the town, where she soon heard the shouting of what sounded like a man in his thirties. Running forward, May saw him running from what appeared to be…a Zigzagoon? A small Pokémon that looked much like a raccoon with its fur pointed out. May almost had the urge to laugh as the grown man in a lab coat ran from the small Pokémon. May turned to the small girl and spoke quickly.

"Go get some help, quickly!" the girl nodded before running back towards town. The man, turning towards her, began to shout.

"Hey! Please, can you help me out here! I accidentally disturbed this Zigzagoon's pups, and now I can't get it away from me!" May looked around, trying to find something to help the man with, "Use a Pokémon and battle it!"

"I don't have one" May answered back quickly, causing the man to groan in both pain and frustration as the Pokémon bit onto his leg.

"There are three Pokeballs in my bag, it's over to your right!" the man shouted as May loved over, "Take one and battle this Pokémon with one of them!" May nodded and began to rummage through the bag, quickly finding three Pokeballs. Not sure what was in them May decided on the best way to pick one.

"Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe…" She began, pointing to each on in turn. After another scream from the man, May skipped the rest of the rhyme and picked a Pokeball, "Right, Go! …Whoever!" as the light came from the ball a small blue Pokémon stood in its place. With a small shake of its head the small Pokémon looked around, slightly confused as to its surroundings.

"Kip…Mud?" it looked behind it and saw May, looking at it confused. The Pokémon smiled, seeing the young girl and jumped towards her, into her arms. May caught the small Pokémon, slightly confused. Mudkip looked up at May happily while May had no idea what to do.

"Well…you're cute" she said softly, patting its head lightly with a smile. The man looked over and shouted out.

"I'm glad you like him, but could you please help me!" this brought both Mudkip and May out of there meeting as Mudkip jumped from May's arms, facing the Zigzagoon. Zigzagoon turned itself to face May and Mudkip, its attention drawn on the potential opponent.

"Ok! Um….Mudkip, use a Tackle attack!" Mudkip nodded in confirmation and ran forward, a light glow forming around it as power built up in the small water Pokémon. The Zigzagoon, caught off guard by the attack flew backwards. In a moment the Pokemon looked to Mudkip, then to the man before running off, deciding it wasn't worth getting beaten up over. There was a bit of silence before May grinned, catching on to what happened, Mudkip turning towards May and jumped once again into her arms. May giggled and scratched the Pokémon lightly on the back of his head. The man, sighing, stood and dusted himself off, a smile on his face.

"Thank you for that" he spoke as he walked towards her. May smiled and nodded, an action with Mudkip repeated. The man looked at both Pokémon and trainer before sighing, a small smile on his face.

"Well, I was expecting a trainer to come by today…but I suppose if you two like each other, as repayment I can allow you to have that Pokémon" May's eyes seemed to bug out of her head as she stared at the man before her, "My name is Professor Birch, and seeing as you two worked so well together, especially after just receiving him, I suppose I can allow you to keep him…seeing as you don't have a Pokémon yourself." May was happy about receiving the Pokémon, but stopped, looking at the Professor for a moment.

"Wait, how did you know I didn't-?"

"Simple deduction" the Pokémon professor began, "if you did have a Pokémon then you would have used it, but seeing as you did have to grab one of the Pokeballs from my bag, I realized you didn't have one…and as the daughter of Norman Maple its best you get one as soon as you can". May's surprise continued to increase as she watched the face of the professor. But after a moment she smiled, looking down at Mudkip…her Mudkip.

"Midkip!" he spoke happily and licked her cheek lightly, causing the girl to giggle, but May had one more question.

"But, how did you know I was Norman's daughter?" Professor Birch smiled before answering.

"Well for one, you look good with Mudkip there, and two, you have his eyes...willfull, powerfull eyes that don't back down" Birch just smiled as May blushed, looking down at the praise.

"That was so cool…" a voice spoke out, causing both the professor and May to look towards the source; a young boy of thirteen stood, a bandanna tied around his right arm near his shoulder, brown hair falling into his eyes only slightly, as you could still see their blue depths. The boy grinned as she walked towards them.

"…Sorry, My name is Seth Decona…I believe you were expecting me Professor?"

(Thus ends chapter one. If you like it I'll continue it, if you don't I'll still continue it…it'll just take a bit longer because it won't be on the top of my "To Do" list.)