Lillie stumbled through the grass, unsure of where to go. Upon reaching Kanto, she was told to go to a place called Pallet Town and visit the local Pokémon Professor there, but this area was so rural that she found it hard to follow the map she had been given. She was so focused on trying to figure out where she was, that she failed to notice the rustling sound in the grass behind her.

By the time she heard it, it was far too late, and she had been knocked to the ground. When she turned to face her attacker, she saw that it was what appeared to be a Raticate, though this one was thinner and had much lighter fur than what she had seen before.

Just as the creature was about to leap at her, she heard a man voice shout, "Arcanine, use flamethrower!" Immediately following this, she saw a jet of fire jut forth right above her, lighting up the area with a burning orange glow. She looked beside her and saw the Raticate scampering off as fast as its stumpy legs would allow.

A moment later, she saw the man who had given the command. He was a handsome young man who looked to be about her age. He stretched out his hand and asked, "Are you okay?"

Lillie took his hand, and as she picked herself up, she replied "Yeah, I'm just fine thanks to you. Can I ask what your name is?"

"My name is Blue, what's yours?" He said, smiling in such a way that made Lillie's heart nearly skip a beat.

Lillie took a moment to compose herself before continuing, "My name is Lillie, and if you hadn't shown up, I would've been a goner, so thank you so much!"

She gave a deep bow before Blue continued, "There's no need to thank me, really. I was sent by Professor Oak to meet you here and make sure you reached Pallet Town safely."

"You know Professor Oak?"

"Know him? He's my grandpa, I've known him for longer than I can remember! I'm working as his assistant right now."

"That's great, I'm kind of lost right now. Can you lead me the rest of the way?"

Blue nodded and motioned for her to follow him. The two walked for quite some time before reaching a small town that must have been Pallet Town. The two headed for a larger building in town and upon reaching the front door, Blue knocked before entering.

"Gramps, are you here? That new trainer is here!" Gramps?" Blue sighed after getting no response, "He must be out again. Well, we can either wait for him to come back, or I could get things started now."

"Well I think that we sho-" Lillie was suddenly interrupted by the sound of her own stomach growling. She looked down to the floor, blushing and extremely embarrassed.

"If you need something to eat, I could take you to a good place to eat here in town."

"No! That's… I'm perfectly fine!" She said, very flustered.

"Nonsense, I insist! You can't do this stuff on an empty stomach!"

"I'm fine it's just that-" Lillie's stomach growled again, giving her pause. "Alright, I'll go." She said, giving into her hunger.

"Great, you'll love this place, I know it!"

Lillie followed Blue out of the lab, still profoundly embarrassed by what had just happened. When they reached the place, she saw that it was little more than a little hole in the wall diner, the kind of place that she expected to find in a town like this. When walked inside, the shop was nearly empty except for the shop owner who slowly looked up at Blue as he walked inside.

"Oh hello Blue, will you be having the usual?" She said limply, sounding as if she weren't entirely awake.

"Yeah, that sounds good." He replied.

"And what do you want dear?" She said, turning to face Lillie.

Lillie looked at the menu before quickly replying, "I'll have the curry."

The shop owner nodded slowly, and the two took a seat. Before she knew it, there meals were ready. She was handed a fairly plain looking plate of curry, while Blue was given a simple looking bowl of rice. Lillie looked at the dish, unimpressed before taking a spoonful of it into her mouth. Instantaneously, her disappointment was replaced by amazement, as this curry tasted better than any she had ever eaten.

"This is really good!" She aid louder than intended.

Blue chuckled before saying, "Yeah I thought you'd like it. It's super simple but absolutely delicious." Lillie agreed before fully digging into her meal.

Once she finished her Curry, she was feeling a lot better.

Blue turned to look at her and asked, "So Lillie, this is your first time in Kanto, what region are you from?"

"Well I've lived in a lot of different places, but I just came here from Alola."

"Wow, what a coincidence. I just came back from a short trip over there."

"Really, what did you do during your trip?"

"Work mostly. Professor Oak wanted some info on Alolan Pokémon, so I went around seeing all the species. I did get to relax a bit though, it was a nice change of pace." Blue paused for a moment before continuing, "So why did you choose to start your Pokémon journey here in Kanto?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I guess I just wanted a change of pace."

Blue thought to himself for a moment before replying, "I guess that makes since."

Blue finished his rice and went up to the counter and took out his wallet to pay for the meal.

"Blue, you don't have to pay for me." Lillie said.

"No, it's fine. I'll just write the meal off as a lab expense. It was to help a new trainer after all." Blue replied, winking as he did so.

Seeing his face as he winked made her stop in her tracks, and she let him pay the bill without any objections. The two made their way back to the lab, and quickly saw that the professor was still missing.

Blue let out an audible sigh and said, "Geez gramps, where could you be?" He paused for a moment before continuing, "Well, like I said earlier, we can either wait for the professor, or I could get you started. I don't think it'll be as smooth though."

Lillie blushed before responding, "No I think it'll be fine, you go ahead."

"Alright. In Kanto, we typically give new trainers the choice between three starter Pokémon, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur." He took three Pokéballs from a nearby table and released the tree Pokémon. "So, which one do you want?"

Lillie stopped to look at the three creatures standing before her. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the fiery tail of the Charmander.

"I'll take this one." She said, pointing to the Charmander.

"A fire type eh? That's a good choice, here you go!" Blue said, returning the Charmander into its Pokéball before handing it over to Lillie. "This Charmander will accompany you throughout yo-"

Blue was suddenly interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

Blue sighed again, "The professor must be back from whatever he got himself into this time." He went to the door and opened it while saying, "Gramps, you really shouldn't go out unannounced like tha-"

Lillie went to the door and saw immediately what had given pause to Blue's words. Standing in the door way were two men wearing strange black uniforms.

They grinned menacingly before replying, "So little Blue is here all alone? Well isn't this a lucky day, hand over all the Pokémon!"

"Last I remember, Giovani disbanded Team Rocket, you guys really should learn when to quit." Blue said smugly.

"Giovani was a fool! We'll bring back Team Rocket on our own!"

"Wow, you two are more delusional than that crazy Magikarp salesman. Hey Lillie, send out your Charmander, I'm going to teach you how to battle."

She threw forth her Pokéball while Blue and the two men stepped into the lab. Blue sent out an Eevee, while the two men sent out a Meowth and an Ekans.

"Now, tell your Charmander to use scratch on the Meowth." Blue said, confidently. She did as he said, and Meowth had taken quite a bit of damage. "Great job, now Eevee, use swift on Meowth!" Blue's Eevee leapt up and let loose a shower of stars on the Meowth, causing it to faint. The two did the same combination on Ekans and both of the opposing Pokémon had fainted with little issue.

"Wow, you two are terrible!" Blue said in a mocking tone.

The two grunts fled from the place with tears in their eyes shouting, "We won't forget this!"

"That was amazing!" Lillie said, turning back to face Blue.

"It was nothing, I was going to have you fight a wild Pokémon or something, but those two made for a better first fight than I could have hoped for!" Blue smiled to himself before looking back at her, "Well, now that you know how to fight, all you need to know is how to catch Pokémon and you can be on your way."

"Actually… I think I want to stay here a while… with you. Do you want to go with me to that restaurant again tomorrow as a… date?" She paused and blushed heavily before frantically saying, "I mean if you aren't seeing anyone else!"

Blue chuckled again before continuing, "No it's alright. Actually, I think I'd like to spend tomorrow with you. You can call it a date!"

The two shared a laugh before Lillie headed out to find a place to stay. She would make sure to rest up well tonight, tomorrow was going to be a big day for her love life.