Good day, everyone! I'd like to introduce you all to my brand new story! Seeing as how there are not enough good Sinnoh stories, and how I have been considering writing one of my own... this is the outcome that I hope you will enjoy. This is a tale of Destiny, romance, Fate, the endless struggle between Good and Evil, and the choices one must do at the cost of others. Please enjoy it!

Summary: A young boy only wanted to have a Pokémon and to go on a Pokémon Journey. However, things would not be as he expected them to be…

Alternate Paths

:Chapter One:

-=A Destined Hero Sets Out: The Special Quest Starts=-

Sinnoh, located to the far north of the world, was always a religious location. Even more than its neighboring landmasses, the large island-continent was home of the only cult to Arceus, the Legendary of Creation, and to Its Servants, the various Legendaries that composed the mythos every inhabitant knew from top to bottom. Even if they were lacking in faith, all respected the cult and the beliefs, for there was no other religion left to them.

With the religious upbringing being so strong, most of them had grown used to the idea of Fate and Destiny, even if they ignored what their own situations were. These were not the matters of the common people, after all; only those who were chosen by the Legendaries would be aware of their own position, and they would thus be superior to all. Those who weren't… well, there was always regular work, unrelated to Pokémon handling.

However, Fate and Destiny, in Sinnoh, had this awful tendency of trying to mess with human beings. Sometimes, matters that should have been left untouched were given severe attention, while that which actually mattered was overlooked – for the greater good, you know. And sometimes, accidents happened.

In this particular case, it all started because of an unlucky alarm clock…

…%)

As the sun began to rise, bringing with it the morning lights, a person walked along the streets of Twinleaf Town. The weather wasn't very warm right now, an indication of the remainders of the previous winter, and most of the city's inhabitants were busy sleeping or, at the very least, inside their warm houses.

But the person who had just left home was unable to sleep, recently. Due to an accident involving an alarm clock setting off earlier than expected, he had awoken at least one hour before everyone else, and due to him going to sleep earlier the previous day, he was rested enough that he didn't feel like returning to sleep. So, after dressing up, he had waited until it was time to leave, before setting out.

His appearance was rather decent and mature, for his age; his skin was lighter in tone than in the other Regions, a requirement due to the harsher cold weather and stormy clouds that were almost a constant in the region, and his outfit was clearly compensating for such. He wore a thick long-sleeved white shirt, reaching down to his wrists, as well as a black vest with a zipper that was currently closed, a hood attached to it and currently covering his head. His brown pants were similarly thick and tied with a belt, while his black sneakers looked rather worn and second-hand. Overall, he looked rather mature for his age.

That was ironic, considering he was only ten years old.

The young boy was currently carrying a backpack, grunting about the weight and the cold. It had taken him quite a while to get all the items that the instructors had told the class to take, and while he didn't quite know why he needed them all, the fact that nobody had suggested extra outfits for the cold weather was annoying. A tent was useful, yes, but did he really need to keep salted meat? He didn't even know how to cook yet!

Despite that, he had dutifully made sure that he had one of every item at the very least, doubling it in case of actual food and necessities. No use risking going hungry in the middle of the forest far from the nearest store or even restaurant if he could avoid it.

…it'd still be better if the whole thing didn't weigh two thirds of his full weight.

As he was walking, slowly, the sound of an engine roared, from far ahead. After a moment of surprise, the boy looked ahead. The main street of the city was only a few blocks away, and in the distance…

A truck! The sound of the roar had to come from that large vehicle, which had been driving off just then. That did encourage him, and with a grunt, he began running ahead, beginning to pant fifteen seconds later.

"H-hey… heey…" he called out, waving at the truck. "Heeeeeyyyy…" Despite that, he wasn't being heard yet, even though he was running as fast as he could to get there quickly. It was too cold!

Finally, he lost his patience. "HEEEEYYYY!" he screamed, loud enough that several of the neighbors were woken up from it, and the several Pokémon that lived by their rooms homes were very disturbed. The truck went on for a few seconds more, before stopping.

As he ran towards the front, the driver glared at him, annoyed. "What is it, brat?" he asked, once he got to see the source of the disturbance. The boy took a few moments to recover his breath, before looking back at the man. He was an adult, most likely on his late thirties, with a cleanly shaven face and some scars earned somehow. His thick black hair was wild and messy, and he was dressed in a delivery outfit, painted in the colors red and orange.

"S-sorry, I… I was just wondering," the boy confessed, somewhat embarrassed. "Are you going to Sandgem Town?" The man nodded, after a moment.

"Yeah… I got a delivery to make. Professor Rowan is going to receive a rare and important Pokémon for his research. You can guess who is taking the thing to him," he explained, pointing at the back of the truck. "You want a ride or something?"

"…yeah." To that, the man just grumbled.

"It's too early in the morning for me to deal with brats… been pulling an all-nighter just so I could try and get back for some shuteye… and then a little brat comes and nearly ruins my baby just so he can forget about being reasonable and taking the bus like every other person…" he complained loudly, and the boy winced.

"…didn't mean to be a bother, mister…" he replied, after a moment. "Besides, the bus doesn't come in another hour, and… it's too cold to stay here, but the nearest bus stop isn't any close, and…"

"Whatever," the driver interrupted, before motioning towards the other door. "If you promise you'll stay quiet and not scream anymore, I'm taking you there. Just don't do anything, okay?" Hearing that, the boy's face brightened, and he nodded quickly.

"Y-yes, sir!" he answered, before running towards the other side of the truck. The door was, indeed, unlocked, and he climbed inside with some ease. As soon as the door was closed, the truck began moving again, and he hurried to put on his seatbelt.

The long trip was rather uneventful, as they crossed the rest of the small town and headed off to Route 202. The boy was looking out the window, for now, his arms pressed against his body to help keep himself heated. It wasn't until they had finally exited the town that he seemed to grow interested in the nearby forest, for once. In a way, his interest was fairly obvious; he had never come out of the small city before, living the previous nine years in it, and with his chance finally arriving, he could finally get to see the world, and see what it was like!

It wasn't until they had entered a particularly forested patch, however, that the truck suddenly started to shake. "W-what's going on?!" he cried out, and the man stepped on the brakes, bringing the truck to a halt.

"Damn… it has got to have been your scream, brat!" he cursed, before looking at him. "Come on, let's see what's happened… hopefully nothing bad has happened to my truck…"

After the two of them got out, the boy very nervous, they walked towards the back of the truck. The man used a key to open the shutter door, before pushing it up.

At that moment, a strange thing dashed through the opening, barely hitting them, and falling to the ground with a thud. As they looked at it, they saw it was a small, round and grey Pokémon, with two large eyes situated on the sides of its head, just in front of two horns shaped like elongated eggs, connected to the main body with a cyan-colored muscle, a long fin extending from the top of its head, giving it a nasty appearance, due to the cut on the back. The large mouth, currently closed, had a few visible teeth, and it had a red underside that went all the way to the bottom of its small tail, apparently. Both the arms and legs were small and stubby, with three little fingers on each appendage. A strip of the lighter cyan color was on its back, as well.

"Gyabulu?" the Pokémon muttered, looking at the two of them, taken aback. As the boy stared at it, the man took another look at the truck, before cursing.

"Damn! This stupid thing has chewed through the steel bars! I told them that they should have used another material!" Hearing that, the young boy looked at him in surprise, before turning towards the Pokémon, who was staring at them still.

"It… it actually could do that?!" he cried out, and the Pokémon's eyes grew wide, before starting to run away as fast as its small stubby legs could allow it. The driver turned towards the boy, for a second.

"What are you waiting for?! Go and get it!" he told the boy, who cried out in surprise, before running after the Pokémon. Despite still having his backpack on his back, all of a sudden it didn't feel that heavy…

*THUD*

…correction, it was still pretty heavy. "Oww…" the boy muttered, as he tried to stand up again, having fallen facefirst on the ground.

The man felt like slapping his own face, as he saw that. "That boy's pretty useless… does he honestly think he can be a trainer?" he muttered, as the boy struggled to get up, despite the heavy weight. Seeing that, he decided to call out again. "If you don't get it, I'm not taking you to Sandgem!"

"W-wait! I-I can do it!" the boy replied, getting up as fast as he could, and tried running after the Pokémon again. Surprisingly, it had stopped and looked at him, after he had fallen.

Just a moment later, it began running away, crying in fear, being pursued again. "G-get back here! I don't want to hurt you, you know!" the boy called out, panting, trying to get the other Pokémon. It was surprising how fast the little thing could be, considering it was so chubby and its limbs, so stubby.

"Gyabugyabugyabugyabugyabu!" it kept on crying out, with every step, waving its arms almost like a bird. The boy coming closer only made it try to run away faster, closing its eyes and crying louder.

"Stop, please!" he begged, before losing his balance again. "Ah!"

Just as he fell, however, he managed to land on it, his hands and arms trapping his catch. The Pokémon tried to wrest free, but the boy, opening one eye, saw that it was on his grasp, and tightened it as well as he could. "P-please… just stop…" he pleaded, trying to get up as well as he could… and failing considerably.

Just then, he felt the Pokémon get pulled away, and looked up. The man who was driving to Sandgem had grabbed onto it, pulling it up. "Let go… you'll need both hands to get up," he told the boy, who did so at once, letting the man take the Pokémon with him. A few seconds later, he was standing up again, embarrassed.

"S-sorry," he apologized, looking away. "I… guess I should start walking, right?" The man shook his head, however.

"You managed to at least grab it, even if you couldn't stand back up… and besides, you didn't seem to have fallen more than that time," he said, holding the odd-looking Pokémon on his hands, making sure to not let its mouth come any closer to his body than he could allow.

"…thanks," the boy replied, looking down. His clothes didn't look any clean. "I'm guessing I look like a mess, don't I…?" he asked, receiving a nod in response. "I guess I'll have to clean up at Professor Rowan's laboratory…"

The man didn't reply; rather, he walked back to his truck, making the boy hold the Pokémon for a few seconds, as he opened the back door fully, and walked into the large room. It didn't take long until he returned, carrying another metal cage, this one seemingly made of a heavy metal. To his surprise, the boy had managed to restrain the Pokémon rather decently, though it was panicking once it saw the cage.

"Gyabulu…bulubulubulubulubulu!" it cried, fearful, starting to struggle to get away from the boy.

"D-don't… don't do that! You can hurt someone!" the aforementioned boy cried out, ignored by the Pokémon in his hands, who had both eyes focused on the cage. The man opened it and grabbed the Pokémon, before shoving it inside, closing the door as soon as he had his arms out.

"That should hold it off for a few minutes…" he said, pushing the cage further away from the opening, before jumping off. The Pokémon was already trying to gnaw his way out, nervously. "Professor Rowan's laboratory isn't too far; we should make it before it can escape again." The boy didn't reply, as he watched the man begin heading back, and followed him on the other side of the truck. Within moments, they were driving off again, following the only road to the next city.

When the truck finally arrived, half an hour later, Professor Rowan was waiting at the entrance. The old man seemed like he had been awake for a while already, and he seemed to have had slept badly regardless. It wasn't until the vehicle had stopped that he showed any semblance of movement, leaving his position and heading towards it.

"Did you bring it?" he asked the driver, who nodded, turning it off. As the door opened and he got off, however, there was another sound of a door opening and closing, something that surprised the older man. "Did someone come with you?"

"Yeah… one of the up-and-coming trainers who's apparently supposed to come today," he replied, motioning to the other side. "He's part of the reason I got late, but well… there isn't much I can do about it."

"I see…" Professor Rowan replied, before turning towards the back of the truck. As the two men walked towards it, he managed to see who the hitchhiker was… a young boy with dirty clothes, brown hair that looked like it had seen better days, and eyes the same color… well, compared to his face. It was red and there was some dirt stuck to it, and… was that grass stuck to his head?

No, he definitely wasn't a pretty sight.

"…hi," he greeted the older man, looking away embarrassedly. "I… can I please wash my face?"

Professor Rowan studied him carefully, before nodding. "…you may. However, before that… stay here. I'll be here for now, and I would rather keep you on my sight during this time," he admonished the boy, who nodded, looking at the truck's back. The driver looked at him, stopping his opening of the backdoor for a moment.

"You know, Professor Rowan, he was responsible for keeping this thing from getting too far from the truck after it gnawed through the cage…" he said, and the elderly man looked at him, still serious.

"That may be, but still…" he replied, and the door was opened; the younger man didn't seem interested in dealing with this for much longer. Inside the truck, the small round Pokémon was gnawing one of the cage's sides, trying to get out of it. The moment the faint sunlight came to it, however, it cried out, covering its eyes with its small paws.

"Gyaaaaa!" it squealed, especially as the cage was pulled back, with some difficulty. After being placed down, the Pokémon spent a few seconds with its eyes covered, before looking around.

"A Gible… it seems to be in good state," Professor Rowan said, kneeling down and looking the Pokémon over. As his gaze was responded by the Gible, he noticed there were traces of earth on its feet and some grass as well, and frowned lightly. It didn't make much of a difference, but the Pokémon seemed to notice it, eyes widening even more.

"Boy… did you mess yourself like this while chasing after this Pokémon?" he asked, and the boy nodded, nervously.

"Y-yes… I was responsible for it waking up in the first place, so when I was told to go and pick it up, I had to do it…" he apologized, trembling a bit. "I didn't mean to, honestly, but… I woke up so early, and I don't have a bicycle or anything, so walking all the way here in this cold is…"

"I see," Professor Rowan replied, before standing back up again and turning towards the truck driver. "You can go now… the two of us can take this Pokémon to my laboratory."

"You sure you want to do that?" the other man asked, receiving a nod in response. "Fine, whatever… that was the only thing I needed to deliver, anyway. Bye, professor, see you, kid!" With that, he walked towards the truck's front again. Professor Rowan looked at the boy, then.

"Well? Aren't you going to help?" he asked, receiving a sudden nod in response. The two walked towards the cage, picking it by the upper side, where the Gible couldn't reach them to bite, and tried to pull it up. Despite being incredibly heavy, they managed to raise it enough to carry the Pokémon closer to the laboratory, stopping just in front of it. After placing it down, Professor Rowan walked towards the door and unlocked it, before turning on the lights.

"You… hadn't even opened it yet?" the boy panted, as he saw that, and the old man nodded.

"Indeed. It is around this time that I come to my laboratory… although, because my alarm clock didn't work today, I ended up delaying it until five minutes before you came," he explained, before walking back to the cage. "Now, come, we only have to bring this inside…"

After some more hard work, the two were finally done, and Professor Rowan had taken out a Pokéball of his own. "This should serve as a restraint for him, right now…" he said, as he enlarged it, before pressing it against the Gible.

"Gya?" The Pokémon let out a single squeal, as it began to glow red and was absorbed by the sphere, dematerializing for the process. As soon as it had, the old man turned back to his companion, looking him over again.

"You said you wanted to use a bathroom… well, just go through that door and then to the first room on your left," he pointed out, and the boy walked off. As he watched him leave, Professor Rowan grumbled, as he looked at the sphere in his hand.

"Damn… he came too early. I can't open the shack with the Pokéballs yet, since my assistant has the key, and he only comes half an hour before the kids… I knew I shouldn't have told him to close it yesterday. The spare's not around, either, and I can't exactly tell him that we don't have any Pokémon right now…" he muttered, looking at it. The bright red and white sphere reflected him, for a moment.

"…that boy… he was messy, yes, but so was the Pokémon… he also seemed to have exerted himself trying to do something… and frankly, I don't see how someone would have gotten themselves like that, if not trying to catch a Pokémon. Maybe, if I'm right… he may be the one I've been waiting for." After pulling his eyes away from the Pokéball, with some difficulty, he glanced at the sole device on the table. "I haven't finished configuring it, and the systems seem to have some quirks to them… but still, I suppose that is enough. If he really is ready to set out, then, maybe…"

About a moment after he stopped speaking, the boy returned, his face finally clean from the dirt. "Thank you, Professor Rowan…" he said, with some difficulty. "I… I'm sorry for being a bother…"

"Bah, don't worry," the old man said, waving him off. "You needed to use it and it's not like it's that important… I assume you want your Pokémon, now." The boy nodded, in response. "May I see your license?" After a moment of searching, he produced a piece of paper from one of his pockets. He then showed it to Professor Rowan, who examined it in detail, before smiling.

"Well, all's clear… and thus, I'll let you take this Pokémon," he said, showing him the same Pokéball as before. The young boy blinked, before looking back at him.

"F-for real?! I… I can have this Pokémon?" he asked, stunned, and Professor Rowan nodded. "But… aren't you going to… use it for research or something?"

"No… you can take it. After all, you tried to bring it back… and the fact that you didn't fail shows me that you and it must be closer than I expected. Not to mention the fact that, thanks to you, the truck arrived in time for someone to meet it…"

"I… I see," he replied, taking the sphere in his hands. While he was looking at it, in wonder, Professor Rowan walked towards the table and picked up the red device, before returning to him. "…huh? What is that?"

"This is a Pokédex… a device of my creation designed for scanning and analysis of Pokémon on the field. It contains all the information I know of; think of it as having your own personal Pokémon Professor, right by your hands," the old man explained, calmly. "Sadly, even I have never seen all Pokémon species in the world… not even those who are deemed to be the Legendary Pokémon. The Pokédex has a wireless connection to the Pokémon League Databanks, meaning that if you find any Pokémon and scan it, you'll be updating the database… and receive particular information on whatever Pokémon you find."

"I… you want me to have it?" the boy asked, and Professor Rowan nodded. "Do… do you really think that's okay?"

"Of course!" the old man replied, somewhat irritated. "Do you believe I am mistaken in putting my trust in you?"

"N-no, sir!" was the nervous response, and the boy tried to stop shaking. "T-thank you very much!"

"You are welcome," was the response, before Professor Rowan headed towards the back of the large room. "I'll be busy for now. You may leave."

"Y-yes! Thank you very much!" the boy replied, before heading out. As soon as he got outside, he began walking away from the laboratory, back to the main road, and made a right after that. While he was walking, he looked up; there was some sunlight coming through the clouds, illuminating the path, and the weather felt rather warm right now.

He smiled.

Steve Mason, age ten, was finally starting his trainer journey.

…%)

Dawn woke up with a loud yawn, as sleep finally left her. The young ten-year old girl had been too excited to sleep properly, so despite her body not being really pained by that, she hadn't woken up in time. Not like she knew, of course…

As usual, after her long hot shower, she set out to dress herself. Her outfit was simple; a white undershirt, a black shirt, a pink microskirt, underwear, black socks, and pink sneakers. It hadn't taken her long to dress up, and now the blue-haired girl was brushing her hair carefully, humming a nice tone to herself.

She had only finished clipping it when her mother opened the door, in a hurry. "Dawn? What are you still doing here?!" she asked, and Dawn blinked.

"Mom? What is it? I just woke up!" she replied, and the woman took a moment to breathe.

"You're… you're already two hours late! If you don't hurry up, you won't be able to reach Professor Rowan's laboratory before lunch!" she explained, and the girl squealed.

"No way! I've gotta get there fast!" she said, before wrapping a scarf around her neck, followed by putting a white cap on her head, covering most of her hair. The cap had a pink Pokéball mark on the front. "No need to worry, mom! I'm going to get there as soon as possible!" she added, running off the room, picking up a yellow bag in the way.

"Dawn, wait! You're forgetting about your breakfast! And you shouldn't be dressed that way!" her mother tried to argue, but Dawn had already climbed onto her bike – pink, like her skirt – and taken off, placing her stuff in the bike's basket.

"No need to worry! I'm sure nothing bad will happen!" she replied, waving as she left. The older woman could only watch her, worried, as she left.

As she headed towards Sandgem Town, crossing the various streets of the small town she lived in, Dawn couldn't help but think of the future. She was only the latest descendant of a long line of Champions, as the several trophies on her house indicated. All those in her family had had unique Pokémon as their starters, that they had received from the current Professor, and who had been valuable to their conquests.

Luxray, Gallade, Lucario… she knew that those rare Pokémon were among the most powerful, and a reward for those in her family who happened to sleep in late, not receiving the same Pokémon as those other, common kids. She was wondering what Pokémon she'd get. A Happiny, maybe? Perhaps a Budew? Or maybe, even, a rare Pokémon from a completely different Region, like a Dratini or an Eevee! Those were so rare it was amazing… and she was definitely going to have one! She just knew it!

It was with these giddy thoughts that she arrived at Professor Rowan's laboratory, minutes later. She could see a couple of trainers walking away, but it wasn't important; rather, what was important was her managing to get a special Pokémon of her own! She had made sure to sleep in like that for this, after all!

"Hi, Professor Rowan!" she greeted the old man, cheerfully. "I'm sorry I'm late, but my alarm clock didn't work, see, so I ended up oversleeping… can I still get a Pokémon?"

"Well… can I see your license?" he asked, and she showed him the piece of paper, cheerfully. "I see. Well, I'm sorry, but the only Pokémon I have left is this one…" he said, indicating the table behind him. There were three cushions there, with only one of them possessing a Pokéball.

At first, Dawn was very content… but then, she noticed that this was unusual. Her grandmother and greatgreatgreatgrandmother had never had to deal with that… she was sure their Pokémon had been revealed with great pomp and mighty fireworks… this was surprisingly normal, all things considered.

Still… it was a Pokémon, and she wasn't going to deny it! Undoubtedly, it was her special starter, the one she was going to use to become the Champion, like all her ancestors before her! She knew it!

After taking the Pokéball, she smiled. "I choose… this one!" she said, spinning in place, giving the young assistant on the back a show, while Professor Rowan had wisely looked away, and threw the Pokéball up in the air. A white flash of light came from it, as the being inside was released… and soon, began taking the shape Dawn was so curious about…

"Piplup pip?"

Standing there was a common-looking Piplup.

Dawn crashed to the ground as she saw it, inadvertently giving the assistant another good show, before quickly recovering. Turning towards Professor Rowan, there was a moment of pause, before she spoke.

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

…%)

I hope you have enjoyed this first chapter. The next one will be coming once it is finished.