Chapter One: First Drops

There's a guy sitting in my room, digging through my bags and frantically checking every little niche, as if he was looking for something.

There isn't really anything special about him. He looks about 15 years old, around 5'10", slim build, with crimson eyes and short black hair, which he notices is exposed and quickly covers with a strange white hat that had been lying on the ground only a moment before. He's wearing a loose-fitting black and red T-shirt with some sort of minimalist design on it, baggy black pants, and fingerless red gloves. Whatever he's looking for must be pretty important to him; he seems distraught and a little frightened.

...of course, this guy is none other than me, and I'm searching for my Pokeball, which contains my one and only Pokemon, Mudkip. I mean, sure, I haven't had him too long, but that just makes it worse! I run out of my room, past my TV, clock, and bed, and hop down the stairs three at a time, to see if my mom had found my Pokeball. There it is! I don't know how it got down here, but my Poke Ball is resting on a mat on the coffee table.

"Ah, Ruby, honey, there you are! I took the liberty of washing up Mudkip and its Poke Ball! You can never be too clean, you know!" Well, that's my mom for you. She's kinda tall for a woman, but she isn't ugly, and she's nice to everyone in her own way. I think she might be a little obsessive compulsive or something; she never seems satisfied with the state of cleanliness around here. It used to annoy me a lot more, back when I spent a lot of time around here. Now that I'm always working with my dad, either in his lab or out in the field, I guess I've kinda stopped noticing it.

"Geez, mom, at least tell me when you take him! I was worried sick!" Ah well, I guess I can't be too mad. She's doing her best, and she's a good mom. She's just a little quirky. "Anyways, I'll leave him down here for now, I have to go tidy up a bit before I leave." I leave Mudkip on the table for now, I can get it on the way back.

"Alright honey, just make sure you're not late!" I guess she worries a little too much, too sometimes. But either way, I forget about it for now and head back upstairs to get the rest of my stuff ready to go help my dad, and tidy up the rest of my room a bit.

Pokenav...check. Guidebook...check. Potions and other miscellaneous supplies...check. And Mudkip is safe downstairs. I'm good to go, I guess." As soon as I finish my rambling, someone knocks on my door pretty vehemently. Before I can even answer, or even get up, the door bursts open and a girl about my age walks in. She has brown hair hanging down in two large bangs, bright blue eyes, and she's wearing a bandana...and clothes eerily reminiscent of my own, only a light blue, and with biker shorts instead of baggy pants.

"Wha..who—" I try to say something, but I'm cut off mid-sentence by this strange girl.

"Hi! You've gotta be Ruby, right? I'm Sapphire, I just moved here from Johto! Our parents have been friends for a while, I think. I wanna travel through Hoenn and become the Champion, but my mom won't let me..." What is up with this girl? She just barges into my room and starts blabbering on about this stuff! I can barely understand her anyways, what with her Johto accent!

"Uhhh..well, that's nice, I guess. But, well, I'm sorry, but I have to go help my dad record some data soon, so I can't stay here long." I'm not lying, but I still feel a little guilty. I guess it's because I really do just want to get away from this strange girl.

"Hmm...would your dad mind if I tagged along? I really like Pokemon, and I won't be a bother, I promise!" Dammit. I can't really say no to her, can I? If I do, it'll only make me look bad.

"Eh, fine. I don't think he'll mind. Actually, he'll probably be happy to have someone who's interested in this kind of thing. You see, I'm not really into battles or traveling. I'm a researcher, but I want to work inside, unlike my dad. Though I doubt you would understand that, since you seem to be really enthusiastic about all of this." Who knows? Maybe Dad'll send her off with a Pokedex instead and leave me be. Well, one can dream. Sapphire doesn't say anything, but her face shows that she's a little worried from my words, or maybe angry, it's difficult to tell.

We walk down the stairs, to be greeted by my mother, who's still cleaning up around the house. It seems Sapphire had at least introduced herself to my mom before she barged into my room, and they talk for a minute, but I don't really pay much attention. I go and get Mudkip's Pokeball, shrink it down, and attach it to my belt. I feel that having Mudkip with me might help somehow. When the girls are done talking, we head out to find my dad. However, Sapphire perks up when she sees the Pokeball on my belt.

"Waaa! You never told me you had a Pokemon! What kind is it? Can I see it?" Really, can she not wait until we get to where my father is? Well, I guess that's how this girl is. She's like the opposite of me: impatient, enthusiastic, and hyper-active. It can't hurt to be a bit late anyways.

"Uh, sure you can see it. Actually, try releasing it! All you do is hit this button in the center, and the Pokeball will open up to release the Pokemon. Then, when you want to recall it, just press the button again, and it'll open up again and the Pokemon will return to the Pokeball." I demonstrate once; though it's not that hard, I don't want to take any chances with Mudkip. She tries to release it, but she can't seem to. I hope I know what she's doing wrong. "Hey, Sapphire, are you holding the button?"

"Um..yes..am I not supposed to?" She seems a little shy on subjects that she's not used to, like this. It's pretty different from her normal personality. "No, you just tap the button. Don't worry, we all mess up sometimes!" Why am I being this nice to her? I'm usually pretty short with people, especially strange or unknown people...which this girl is both. Maybe I'm just desperate for a friend.

"Wow, you would really make a good professor! Do you like teaching people how to do things?" Her compliment kind of surprises me. I thought she'd be the gloating type. Not that I'm complaining.

"Thank you! It's what I want to do in my life, become a Pokemon Professor like Oak, and teach about Pokemon!" Not so much my dad, though. I mean, he's a great professor in his own right, but field work is not for me. Though I keep that to myself. I don't want to hurt my dad's feelings.

The rest of our trip goes by pretty uneventfully, with Sapphire playing with Mudkip's Pokeball like a child with a new toy. Which, actually, I guess that's what she is. She's pretty immature for her age, if I'm right that she's about my age. Then again, I'm kind of mature for our age, because of the work I've done around the lab and in the field. I notice a clearing ahead, where my dad is sitting with a briefcase and two small, red, laptop-like devices. It seemed that he was done, as he was putting the strange little machines back into the briefcase and was looking around for anything he'd dropped. Of course, all of this searching around means he saw us almost immediately.

"RUBY! There you are! How are you? I was wondering why you were so late, but now I see! You've brought along your girlfriend!" Sapphire and I blanche, and glance at each other.

"IT'S NOT LIKE TH-" My old man cuts us off. This is all so like him. Actually, it's a wonder he's not HER father. We're barely anything alike.

"I know, I know! I'm not as stupid as I look, I hope! This is Norman's kid, Sapphire, right? Well, that's fine! I was hoping to meet her soon, Norman said she really liked Pokemon and the outdoors!" He's grinning ear-to-ear. Must be pretty nice, having someone to relate to. "Thanks for dragging her along, son!"

"Ah, no, I wanted to come here! I wanted to see how you worked, but I kinda held him up..." Sapphire says pretty much what I was going to...so I'll jsut keep quiet for a minute. But, still why's he here? I know he comes to this area a lot, he must know everything there is to know about it by now. So why would he be here again...?

"It's no problem, don't worry about it! Well, I was just finishing up these Pokedexes! I like it out here, it's peaceful, and there are no pesky Aids! Or noisy machinery! These are perfect working conditions, wouldn't you say so, Sapphire?" He's treating her like he's known her for years. Oh, well. I guess he HAS, but I don't think that's why he's doing this. No, it's just him. He does this to everyone.

"Ah! Yes, Professor, I love it here! It's so quaint..." Quaint? I really didn't expect that from her...But anyways, these two are far more similar than I thought they'd be. I guess it's a good thing that they get along so well, but TWO just like him now? Perish the thought...I'm doomed.

"Well, we should probably be heading back for now. It'll get dark soon, and there're lots of powerful nocturnal Pokemon around here." We take his advice and start to leave. But then...

BOOOOOOSH

Thunder suddenly cracked through the damp air, and storm clouds formed atop the clearing and surrounding forest. A gigantic cascade of water fell upon us, so heavy that it blocked out what light was left through the clouds.

"I-I can't see a thing! Where'd you kids get off to?" Dad was yelling something, but it was in vain; the torrent muffled his voice far too much for it to carry more than a foot or two, and I couldn't even determine where it was coming from. All I really knew was that somehow I'd managed to grab his briefcase, along with Sapphire's hand. The rain was coming down so strongly that it stung my head even through my hat. It had to be worse for Sapphire; all she had was that bandana.

I struggle to open up my dad's case under the downpour. Eventually, I get it open and get what I was looking for, a Pokeball. I just hope it's the right one. I lay it down and latch the briefcase again.

"Sapphire! Take this!" I push the Pokeball into her free hand. "Listen, DON'T let go of my hand! But if we do get separated and you need to protect yourself, release that Pokemon! If it's red, tell it to use Scratch! If it's green, use Pound! But we gotta go now! Don't worry about my dad, he'll be fine!" I hope I sound a lot braver than I feel, for Sapphire's sake. I'm scared out of my wits right now, and if she knew that, she'd be even more scared. I'm also worried about my dad, as I really don't believe what I just said. He has Pokemon with him, but they can't really do much against THIS. But, now is the time to worry about us, not him.

We run off through the downpour, not knowing exactly where we're headed. The last thing I really remember well is feeling Sapphire shaking, and then another crash of thunder.

When I come to, it's the dead of night. The vegetation and trees around me are soaked, but it's pretty quiet, so I guess it isn't raining any more. I get up and look around, and notice my dad's briefcase to my right, and Sapphire a little ways to my left. Dad...I wonder if he's alright. He should be, he knows this place so well, but that storm was so unreal...I can't help but worry about him.

As for us, though, we need to get out of here. Sleeping on this soaked ground can't be healthy, and there are no doubt wild Pokemon around here. No, we have to leave soon. I'll let Sapphire sleep for a little while longer; she'll need it, and I need to check up on some stuff before we leave anyways. I walk over to the briefcase and unhinge it. Everything is there, and the Pokedexes at least turn on, so I guess he made them waterproof. Good idea.

The last Pokeball is still there, and I notice that it has a label on it. I guess I missed that last night. I should have payed more attention, as the ball is labeled Treecko, the one I meant to give Sapphire last night. She got Torchic, then. It's a good thing she didn't have to release it; Fire types are not very comfortable in rain for obvious reasons. It might have attacked her.

There are also some notes in the briefcase, but those can wait. I just wanted to make sure everything was there. We need to get going soon, though, so I walk over and wake Sapphire up. I give her a few minutes to wake up properly, then tell her the situation.

"Sapphire, it's time to get out of here. We can't sleep here; it's too dangerous with the wild Pokemon, and it might start raining again. We need to get home or to the nearest city." I guess I explained it pretty well, at the least she doesn't look too confused. She looks determined, actually. Maybe she's more dependable than she seems.

"Okay! You have a map, right? I hope we can get home soon, I don't want my parents to worry."

"It's good to worry about your parents, but right now we're in more danger. And yes, my Pokenav has a map. It also has a phone, but can you wait until we're out of the forest to call? It might attract Pokemon. We're talking too much as it is." It's a little mean, but it's true. I check my Pokenav, and I'm glad for my backpack being waterproof. Anything less and my stuff would all be ruined.

"It's okay. I don't have to call them now. But...you're a little blunt sometimes, you know?" Yeah, I know. My parents think it's one of my bigger faults, and the reason I don't have too many friends. Well, it's just me.

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, I'm not really trying to be mean. But anyways, it seems that we wandered a long way; we're near Petalburg. It should be right outside these trees, in fact. That's probably why we were safe this long; the Pokemon don't usually wander this close to the city." We really were lucky, I guess. But then again, if we'd just gone a little more before we stopped, we would have made it to the city.

"Petalbug? My dad's the Gym Leader there! Let's hurry up, Ruby!" Huh. I'd heard Petalburg was getting a new Leader. I should've guessed.

"Alright then, now there's even more reason to go. Let's get out of here." But just when we get ready to leave, a scream stops us.

"FINALLY! PEOPLE!" A green-haired boy in a white button-up shirt and green pants was running towards us. He looked frantic and scared, but also glad to have found us.

"Whoa, quiet down a bit; there might be wild Pokemon around here. What's wrong, did something happen in Petalbug?" I'm worried at this point. If anything really bad had happened, we'd have to walk back to Littleroot tonight, which is a long way off.

"Um, no, it's nothing like that. I've just been lost for a long time. You see, the Leader, Norman, told me to wait for his daughter to come help me catch a Pokemon yesterday...but she never came. I thought I'd be fine, so he gave me a Pokemon to help catch one. And it did! I caught one! But...as soon as I let it out, it Teleported me into the forest! I tried to get it to take me back, but it wouldn't! I've been stuck out here all night, wandering around in the rain!" Wow, he's pretty talkative. He looked really shy. Maybe he's jsut scared, though.

"That's pretty bad. I'm Ruby, and this is Sapphire. We've been here all night, too, because of that rain. Speaking of the rain, do you have any idea why it was so strong?" It can't hurt to ask. And even if he doesn't, that just means that it definitely is not normal.

"My name's Wally. And no, I'm sorry, I have no idea. Bu-but can you tell me where Petalburg is? I need to get back and give Norman his Pokemon back!"

"Sure we can! In fact, we'll go with you, we're heading there anyways! And don't worry about my dad, I'll calm him down if he gets mad!" Sapphire's a lot nicer than me. I should probably leave Wally to her.

"You'll come with me? Really? Thank you! And you're Norman's daughter? I wish we could all be friends, but, well, the whole reason I came to get a Pokemon in the first place is because my parents are sending me to live with my aunt and uncle in Verdanturf. They say that the air is healthier there or something." Yeah, I was right. He is talkative, but he's likable too. The air, though...does he have asthma? I ask him about it.

"Oh, no, I don't have asthma..I'm anemic. And I'm hemophilic, or an easy bleeder, which makes it even worse. My parents say that if I go somewhere with cleaner air, I'll get more oxygen in my blood, and that'll make me feel better. But I didn't want to be alone there, so I asked them if I could get a Pokemon, and they agreed. But I'm talking too much, aren't I? I'm sorry, I always do this. I don't have many friends myself, so I talk a lot when I do meet someone." Son of a bitch, Wally. At least you realize it. While he was talking, we'd reached the outskirts of Petalburg.

"Uh, sorry, Wally, but Sapphire wanted to call her parents, so we'll need to be a little quieter." Wally nods, and I hand Sapphire my Pokenav and show her how to call with it. When she walks away, Wally and I start to talk.

"Wally, you're alright, right? Being out here with anemia must have been tough. Have you even had any sleep?" I don't think he has; his eyes are bloodshot and have bags under them.

"No, no, I'm fine, really! But you're right, I haven't had any sleep. I was too afraid, even with Norman's Pokemon. And I haven't let my other Pokemon out since it Teleported me." Right, that's how he got here. Teleport, though...

"Wally, that's a Ralts, I think. It's the only thing around here with Teleport. You're pretty lucky; Ralts are rare. But I guess it's a problem if it doesn't obey you..."

"Yeah, it is. But I'm glad it's special! But that is a problem, and I can't really train it myself..."

I need to do something about that...if his Pokemon doesn't obey him and teleports him somewhere, he could be in trouble. But I can't really train it; I'm not that great at doing it myself. I guess I could teach HIM the basics, though. But not with Ralts. If he lets it out and it misbehaves again, we'll all be screwed.

"Here, Wally, take this." I get the last Pokeball, the one with Treecko, out and hand it to Wally. "That's a Treecko, and it should obey you. I'm going to teach you how to train Pokemon so that Ralts will obey you...and any others you may catch." If he catches on to what I tell him, I'm sure he'd make a great Trainer.

"Thank you! I've wanted to train Pokemon since I was ten, but my parents never let me! I had to beg them to let me get one...but if you teach me, I'll be able to catch a lot! Thank you so much, Ruby!" Well, I'm glad he's happy, at least. I just hope I can teach him well.

While Sapphire talks, I train Wally. He seems to get the hang of this pretty quickly; he'll be a better trainer than I will, for sure. After about twenty minutes, the last five of which had Sapphire watching, I decide that he's ready.

"Wally, send out Ralts. We need to see if you can get it to obey you now. You should know how to sooth it if it's afraid." I mainly taught him how to calm Pokemon and get them to like him, since that is his main problem, so he should be able to handle it. Plus, with Treecko there, Ralts might trust Wally a little more.

"Well, if you think it'll be fine, then okay." I got worried when he first sent it out; it looked startled and seemed about to run off. But then Treecko approached it, and the Ralts seemed to calm down a little. "Wally, call it over to you." when he does, the Ralts looks a little hesitant at first, but after a look at Treecko, it goes over to Wally and sits down next to him.

"This is great! Thank you so much, Ruby! Is there any way to thank you?" Well, I'm glad he's happy, but I really didn't teach him much...

"No, there's no need to thank me. Just become a good trainer, and raise those two with care." It's risky, and it might get me in trouble with Dad, but I'm going on a journey anyways; he can't stay mad if I get him a lot of Pokemon.

"Two..you mean...Treecko? But, this is yours, isn't it? Don't you want it?" Oh right. Wally doesn't know.

"No, it's not mine. It's one of the Starter Pokemon my dad gives out. He's Professor Birch. And...I don't know if I should do this, but take this with you too." I'm kinda embarrassed at Wally's amazed look as I tell him this, and when I give him the Pokedex.

What? These are the Professor's? No, I can't take this, he'll get angry!" He reacted like I thought he would, but I have to convince him to take them.

"Wally, it's fine. I've been in trouble with my dad before. I'll be fine, and he won't get mad at you. Though it'd be nice if you got a Pokenav in Rustboro and called him. I'll give you his number when we're in Petalburg. And if you want to repay him for this, just catch a lot of Pokemon on your journey. That thing's called a Pokedex, and it will record data on all the Pokemon you catch, and a bit before that. I'm doing it too, so I can repay my dad with the Pokemon I catch. He can't stay mad anyways, it's not in his nature." I can't say I really talk that much at one time very often, but he never tried to interrupt and just let me speak.

"If..if you say so, Ruby! But this is like getting it handed to me by the Professor! It's like I'm a recognized Trainer! With this, not even my parents can say no! And my brother...this'll mean the world to him!" He might be taking this a bit too far, but I guess it's not that bad. He's enthusiastic about all this, unlike me. And hopefully his brother will support him.

"Hey, guys, this is great, but we need to get into Petalburg! I'm dead tired, and the sun is coming up! And I'm sure Wally's parents are worried sick, the same for you, Ruby." Oh wow. She's right...I guess I just forgot about the time while I was talking to Wally. I'll call my parents once we get to the PokeCenter in Petalburg.

"Wally, do you want to show us around? We can find the PokeCenter on our own if you can't, but I'd like if you showed us."

"Yeah, Wally, come on! This way, you can repay Ruby like you wanted! Please?" Maybe she's a little TOO excited...but whatever, it's fine with me if it's fine with Wally.

"Uhh, sure. My house is in that direction anyways, though it's further on."

We let him lead us, and he thanks me again and again for Treecko and the Pokedex. I take in the sites; the small houses, the people and the plants and grass. It's not what I expected a city to be. It's got a lot of people, though. Maybe too many. I don't really like crowds that much. It's not so much a fear as a dislike, but it can still be a problem. Still, it's enjoyable, and the people seem happy enough. The two lakes here look like they'd be fun to swim in, and the houses are nice enough. The Gym is pretty big, and is near the north of the city. The whole city is surrounded by woods, and we came out near the south, to the right of the bigger, L-shaped lake. After a short walk, we see the PokeCenter, and say goodbye to Wally.

"Thank you, Wally! I'm sorry, but we need to go sleep..wait, they DO have beds here, right?" Oh right. Most PokeCenters do, so hopefully this one won't be any different.

Yeah, it has beds. We get a few travelers every now and then, on their way to the Professor's place, so you should be welcomed by the nurse. But again, Ruby, thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me! But, I'm sorry for keeping you. Bye, guys!"

"See ya later, Wally."

"Bye, Wally! Thanks for showing us around!" We say our goodbyes, and then head into the PokeCenter. It's clean inside, and there aren't many people around. There's a little table with magazines on it, and a PC near the right wall. The machine behind the nurse must be for healing Pokemon, as my dad has one similar to it, and he's used it to heal Mudkip before.

"You kids look beat. Were you out all night in that storm? That's bad for your health!" This comes from the lady at the counter, and of course she'd say something like that; she's a nurse. She's dressed in white, with pink hair dressed up into a bow, and there's a Chansey next to her.

"Yes, we got caught in the storm...but we just need a place to sleep! Can we use the beds here?" Well, Sapphire knows how to get to the point. But yeah, now that I'm not really doing anything, I'm dead tired. I need a bed soon or I'll pass out on the floor.

"Sure, the beds are open to anyone! Unfortunately, there's only one open right now, so you'll both have to sleep in it!" I go pale white, then a deep red color.

"No, I..uh, I'll sleep on the floor, Sapphire can have the bed!" Wait, why is the nurse laughing? Is it really that...oh. Right. What is it with adults and these damn jokes of theirs?

"Haha. I'm just kidding, all of the beds are open. But you're very nice to let her have the bed, young sir." I think she's just trying to calm me down now. It won't work THAT easily, though. At least sleeping will help me.

"Yeah, thanks, Ruby! I was going to let you have it, though! I'm fine with sleeping on the floor; I used to do it for fun, pretending I was outside!" Uhh...okay. I can't say that that isn't a little weird, but to each his/her own, I guess.

"Well, anyways, lets go upstairs and get some rest. You can go on to bed, I just need to call my parents and talk to them a bit." Hopefully Dad doesn't take it too badly...We go upstairs, where there are three beds waiting for us. There are also some unused stalls here, with machines and doors behind them. A picture of some other region is on the wall, and there's a shelf of Pokemon books on one wall. I ignore all of these, sit down on the bed, and call my dad, who I'm sure is already up and outside even at this hour.

"Ruby? Where'd you get off to last night, I was worried sick!" I explain everything that had happened, and that I'd given the other Pokemon and Pokedex away.

You gave them away? To a green haired kid? Well, if Norman trusts that kid with a Pokemon, I do to. You told him about the Pokedex, right? I'm sure he'll do fine, especially if he gets in contact with me. No, I'm not angry, in fact I'm proud of you, son! You handled that like I would have! And you're showing that you'll be a great professor someday!"

Are you kidding me? Any normal person would be at least a little angry. Then again, my dad has never been normal, has he? I shouldn't complain, he could be telling me to come home now.

"Well, alright, Dad, but can you tell Mom for me? I need to get some sleep, and I might be keeping Sapphire up as well."

"Sure, Ruby! I'll call her right away, she was pretty worried last night. Just you and that girlfriend of yours get some sleep, and call me when you get up!" He then hangs up before I can say anything to him. Urgh. These people do this JUST to piss me off, I'm sure. Oh well, he's not chewing my face off for it, so I should be glad. When I look over, I see Sapphire's already out, or at least is faking it for my sake.

"Night, Sapphire."

"Night!" I guess she was still awake. Well, time for me to get some sleep too. I don't think it'll be long before I'm out.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here it is. The first chapter of this story, which, as of writing this AN, has no name. Thanks go out to some of my friends for helping me, and reading over a beta chapter I made, which was mainly to test my writing style. If this seems a little formal at times, I'm sorry, but I'm usually an essay writer, but I'll try to work on that...and believe me, this seemed much more serious when it was in 3rd person. Far too serious, in fact. Yeah, the beta chapter was originally in 3rd person, but apparently I'm horrible at that and can't convery the emotion well with it, so yeah. 1st it is. I plan to put in little random-ass trivia about either Pokemon, the fic, or my life in general. Also, yes, I know I skipped Oldale, but it isn't that important to the plot, and the story itself is obviously not going to follow the manga or the games too closely. Please read+review(flames too, whatever goes).

Today's Trivia: The Nidoran families could not learn Dig in the first generation games through any means.