Setting Off

The young girl slung a white duffel bag over her shoulder. "Bye, Mrs. P!" she called back to her neighbor. "Take good care of Daddy for me!"

"Don't worry, Kirari, I will!" Kirari's neighbor called back with a laugh and a wave.

Smiling, Kirari swung her leg over her bike and looked around one last time. She didn't know when she'd be coming back here next, here to her hometown- New Bark Town. It was such a nice little town, so peaceful and quiet. There was always a gentle breeze that powered the windmills towering over the rooftops. To her right was the biggest building in town, the Pokemon Research Lab. Her brother and sister had gotten their starter Pokemon there, a Cyndaquil and a Chikorita, respectively. They had taken those starters to other regions, her brother to Hoenn and her sister to Sinnoh. Some other girl she didn't know had taken the last one, a Totodile. With no starters left, Kirari had taken the family Pokemon as her partner- a female Pachirisu named Sparkle. Everyone loved Sparkle, since Pachirisu were not native to Johto. Plus, she had this cute little habit of wriggling her nose and-

"Honey, you should get going!" Mrs. P called out nervously to Kirari again, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Thanks, Mrs. P! Bye!" Kirari yelled as she started to pedal. She made a mental note for any lonely nights. Cute little houses, dirt paths, the town almost entirely surrounded by trees. Except for where she was going- the opening of the trees led to the first trail of her adventure, Route 29.

Smiling to herself, Kirari pedaled right out of her hometown, vowing to herself that she would come back with a way to heal her father.

Unlike her vision, complete with background music, Kirari's entry into the route wasn't as epic as she had expected. There was a short path of trees before she would actually reach the real Route 1. She did what she always did when she was along lately- think about her dream, two weeks ago.

Two weeks ago, Kirari had had a dream that meeting Entei would give her the cure to her father's deathly illness.

Two weeks ago, her brother had dreamt the same thing only with Suicune, and her sister with Raikou. The two had immediately gotten starter Pokemon and headed off to various regions to find the legendary in their dream. Kirari, on the other hand, had stayed behind to make sure her father would be okay while she was gone. Due to her kindness in this regard, her father imparted a good bit of wisdom to her-

'The legendaries you three dreamt about are all native to Johto. No matter how eager your siblings were to leave, they'll never find them where they went. Keep here in Johto, and if you really are supposed to find Entei, you'll find it here.'

As the trees opening up onto Route 29, Kirari made a solemn vow that she would heal her father with Entei alongside her. With that, she got off her bike, folding it up and slipping it into her bag. There was a patch of grass right ahead of her, and it's hard to fight while on a bike, Kirari figured. Just how do cyclists do it? she thought while shaking her head.

She walked to the edge of the grass and looked down at it excitedly. At any time in that thick stuff, a wild Pokemon could jump out at her. She was fully prepared though, with Potions and even a Full Heal from her neighbor. Then she stepped into the grass. Immediately she broke out in a grin.

The grass tickled her feet, and she loved it. She had insisted on going barefoot for the majority of the journey, just for that feeling of the grass on her skin. The sun was high in the sky above her, but a slight breeze kept her from getting hot. Birds chirped, and trees cast inviting shadows for a tired Trainer. Thick grass was everywhere, and there were little ledges to jump off if you wanted to.

"This is where it begins!" Kirari exclaimed excitedly to herself, and darted through the grass, laughing. For the first time she was free, free from constantly taking care of her father (even though she'd do anything for him), free from school, and most importantly, free from her mean siblings who picked on her because she was petite. She could feel a great adventure coming up.

Then there was a rustle in the grass. Kirari grinned and enlarged Sparkle's Pokeball.

Kirari didn't feel a great adventure coming up anymore.

She felt the adventure of a lifetime.